Regulation or overreach? The growing battle over nicotine pouches in Massachusetts

Nearly 40 Massachusetts businesses were recently informed by their health department that they can't sell certain nicotine pouches. The health department says they're following the state's ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products but a local group that represents convenience stores opposes that directive and says the board is out of line. Boston 25's Amel El-Hel is on scene in Grafton with the story. This convenience store here in Grafton is one of 39 businesses that had to take Zin Chill and Zin Smooth off the shelves after receiving this letter from the Central Massachusetts Regional Health Department. In a letter sent to nearly 40 businesses in Shrewsbury, Grafton and West Boylston, the Central Massachusetts Regional Health Department informed them they can no longer sell certain tobacco products. Those being the three and six milligram varieties of Zin Chill and Zin Smooth nicotine pouches. They're small synthetic fiber pouches filled with nicotine powder put between the lip and the gum. Oftentimes considered as a healthier alternative to cigarettes or chewing tobacco. At the Cumberland Farms in Grafton you can see rows of empty shelves where those products used to live. These local health boards are out of control. Peter Brennan is the executive director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association and says he believes the board is overstepping their authority. What you have now is just a patchwork of regulation pushed by local health boards and tobacco control people that makes no sense because this is not what the flavor ban intended. The flavor ban was intended to ban things like cotton candy vapes, bubblegum flavored tobacco products that you could easily see as being marketed to kids. These more subtle you know nicotine pouches those are not marketed to kids at all. Regional Public Health Director Annette Garcia wrote in a statement that quote during the ingredient analysis for Zin products the FDA determined that the smooth and chill varieties contained an ingredient that imparted a non-tobacco charactering flavor. That distinction prompted the board to determine the product violated the Massachusetts law that bans the sale of flavored tobacco products. At the convenience store in Grafton customers had mixed opinions. It's crazy to me it doesn't make sense and too much government overreach. I can see both sides but they put this stuff out on the market how can you say it's healthy? While Zins are off the shelves it seems that nicotine pouches that do have a characterizing tobacco flavor can stay. On scene in Grafton I'm Aman Al-Halb for your local station Boston 25 News.