Experts say age limits on nicotine pouches, cannabis not a perfect solution for protecting youth / Les experts soulignent qu les limites d’âge sur l’achat des sachets de nicotine et du cannabis ne sont pas une solution parfaite pour protéger les jeunes

By Gwyneth Egan, CBC News, PEI, with comments from Dr. Nicholas Chadi, May 6, 2026

Prince Edward Island is considering raising the age at which nicotine pouches and cannabis can be purchased, but experts say it’s not a catch-all solution.

Currently, nicotine pouches can be bought at pharmacies by anyone over 18, and cannabis can be bought by anyone over 19.

P.E.I.’s Health Minister Cory Deagle says he wants the minimum age increased to 21 — which would bring it in line with existing tobacco and e-cigarette legislation.

“Age is an important question, but I think an even more important question is what are all of the different policies, rules and regulations that come around it,” said Nicholas Chadi, a pediatrician and researcher who specializes in adolescent and addiction medicine.

“One thing is having policies, rules and regulations in place, and the other thing is making sure they’re enforced, but also controlling products that can come from other sources and in other ways.”

Chadi said many experts say the brain continues to mature beyond the age of 20 and that there could be a rationale for pushing up the age of legal purchase beyond 21.

But at the same time, he said discussions with many of his colleagues focus less on a specific age limit, and more on the different rules and regulations that exist around such substances.

“We’re talking about marketing and policies around products and how they’re verified and controls around what they can contain,” he said.

“Having the age question tackled alone will not be sufficient.” (Full story)