This product composed only of legal products promises energizing effects. But its administration by inhalation provokes a strong reaction from health professionals and tobacconists who are opposed to its marketing.
It is a white powder sold by the gram which is consumed through the nose using a straw and promises energizing effects. It is not cocaine, but Sniffy, a legal product sold for several days in French tobacco shops and on the internet.
“A white powder that you inhale through your nose? Although this may evoke forbidden pleasure, it is completely in compliance with the law,” assures the brand on its website.
The product, available in five flavors for less than 15 euros, “boosts energy instantly” for “20 to 30 minutes”, in particular thanks to the presence of caffeine, creatine and taurine in its ingredients. The brand justifies consumption by inhalation by the “rapidity” of its effects.
“It’s totally scandalous”
But the resemblance of its administration to that of cocaine strongly reacts certain health professionals, such as Amine Benyamina, psychiatrist-addictologist and president of the French Federation of Addictology who calls for its ban by the public authorities “as of this weekend “.
“What shocks me is the intention behind this product. You sell a product in the form of a white powder with a pipette, the intention is very clear, it is to remind people of the consumption of cocaine, it is a marketing excess, they dared and succeeded in placing it in tobacconists or elsewhere, which seems totally scandalous to me” he denounces on BFMTV.
The addiction psychiatrist also recalls that addiction is not limited to the consumption of the product but is also linked to “the effects of the product and the intention given to these products”.
This product resembling “completely, totally and unambiguously” to cocaine is, according to him, intended to “in one way or another” lead consumers to consume “a product which is not toxic in the sense of its components but that it is by the message it conveys”.
“It’s not just the gesture, it’s the gesture and all the unconscious thinking around the product which is in powder form with a pipette which is the equivalent of the gestures and the ritual of cocaine, it’s is even more pernicious than one can imagine.
Tobacconists denounce the “amalgamation” of the product
An opinion shared by Elina Dumont, former drug addict and president of Oubliés de la République, who fears that dealers will use Sniffy to deceive consumers and make them addicted to narcotics.
The product was not easy to find in tobacco shops by BFMTV. And for good reason, the product being recent, it is not yet distributed everywhere. But some tobacconists have also indicated that they have been robbed since its marketing, while others have confided that they do not want to offer it to their customers.
The National Confederation of Tobacconists, which represents the 23,000 traders in the region, is also “firmly” opposed to its marketing. “We have ethics, we have morality, this product creates an amalgamation or parallel with a stupefying product, it is unthinkable for me that the network could market this product,” insists Philippe Coy, president of the organization to our antenna.
Public authorities alerted for “several weeks”
He indicates that he “alerted the public authorities several weeks ago” to request a ban.
“This product is not illegal due to its composition but rather it is the way it is consumed which shocks and disturbs,” explains Philippe Coy, who also denounces its promotion on social networks by influencers.
Questioned by 20 minutes, the manufacturer of Sniffy, who is a Marseille CBD specialist according to the newspaper, expected that the comparison of his product with cocaine “would come up”. Although he recognizes that “it can shock people”, he defends himself against any incitement to the consumption of illicit products. The product is prohibited for those under 18 and not recommended for pregnant women and people with heart problems.
Julie Roeser, Emilie Roussey
