The Isle of Man is about to close its nicotine pouch loophole for under-18s
Nicotine pouches are currently legal to sell to children on the Isle of Man. A bill rushed through the House of Keys in a single sitting is expected to get Royal Assent in November, closing that gap — after two schools wrote to parents this month about rising pupil use.
Right now, it's legal to sell a nicotine pouch to a child on the Isle of Man. That's about to change.
What happened
The island's Nicotine Products Bill 2026 is expected to receive Royal Assent in November, according to Manx Radio reporting on 26 October. Royal Assent is the Crown's formal sign-off and the last step before a Manx bill becomes law. Dr Ross Keat, a consultant at Public Health Isle of Man, told Manx Radio the department expects the bill "to be progressed very soon."
The bill itself moved unusually fast. Cabinet Office minister David Ashford brought it to the House of Keys on 30 June, and MHKs pushed it through its first, second and third readings — plus the clauses stage — in a single sitting, then passed it unanimously. Ashford called it an "immediate response to an issue of significant public concern" that had been "developed at pace," and said he deliberately kept it "short and focused" so it would be "as uncontroversial as possible." It then went to the Legislative Council before heading to Westminster for Royal Assent.
Why it matters
Until this becomes law, there has been no minimum age for buying a nicotine pouch on the Isle of Man — not because lawmakers intended that, but because the products fell outside existing tobacco and vape sales rules. Ashford put it plainly during the June debate: "We really are closing a loophole here," adding that most parents already assumed children couldn't legally buy the pouches.
The timing lines up with what's happening in schools. Manx Radio reported this month that two of the island's schools wrote to parents warning about a rise in pupils using nicotine pouches, which it described as highly addictive. The products are small sachets placed under the upper lip that release nicotine into the body — no smoke, no vapor, easy to use discreetly in a classroom.
Several MHKs used the June debate to flag the marketing around pouches specifically. Ashford said he'd been "shocked" by some of the advertising, calling it "clearly aimed at children" and "disgraceful." Rushen MHK Michelle Haywood, who had campaigned on the issue for years, said tobacco companies were chasing their "next generation of sales" through "manipulative practices," and argued the bill sent "an important signal" to them. Glenfaba and Peel MHK Kate Lord-Brennan wanted pouches to face the same in-shop display restrictions as vapes — that didn't make it into this bill, which Ashford framed as a deliberate "stop gap" ahead of more complete regulation later. One amendment that did pass unanimously, from Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper, shifts liability for illegal sales away from individual shop workers and onto business owners.
The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency with its own parliament, Tynwald, and sets its own retail and health law separately from the UK — which is why it needed its own bill even though mainland Great Britain already moved to restrict under-18 pouch sales this year. Ashford said he wants the island to match UK-style restrictions "as soon as possible."
What's next
Once Royal Assent is granted, the ban doesn't necessarily take effect on day one — Manx Wire reported that as of late October, no date had yet been set for when the ban would actually come into force. Public Health Isle of Man's comments suggest officials expect that to follow quickly once the bill clears its final procedural step.
Ashford has also been explicit that this law is a stopgap, not the finished product: broader nicotine pouch regulation — potentially covering things like retail display and marketing, the areas MHKs flagged but didn't address this time — is still to come.
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SOURCES:
- Manx Radio, "Bill banning sale of nicotine pouches to under 18s due to get Royal Assent in November." 26 Oct 2026. Manx Radio
- Manx Wire, "Ban on nicotine pouch sales to under-18s expected to get Royal Assent in November." 26 Oct 2026. Manx Wire
- BBC News, "Manx parliament fast-tracks nicotine pouch ban for under-18s." 30 Jun 2026. BBC
- Manx.News, "Nicotine Loophole to be Closed." 30 Jun 2026. Manx.News