The Canadian government has shocked vapers by reactivating anti-vape legislation that has lain dormant for almost three years.
As far back as 2021, Health Canada published plans for the flavor ban in the Canada Gazette1Ottawa, “Canada Gazette Part I,” vol. 155, no. 25, 2021, [Online]. Available: https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2021/2021-06-19/pdf/g1-15525.pdf. A representative stated that the organization was working to “enhance national cooperative and collaborative efforts to protect young persons” from vaping.
According to the article, Health Canada allocated $12.4 million in grants to be dispersed over the following six years, including a $1.3 million grant for a team at the University of Toronto to enhance existing app-based approaches to vaping cessation.
Given the organization’s hardline stance, readers expected the flavor ban to go into effect exactly when Health Canada said it would, 180 days from the announcement. Fortunately for Canadian vapers, January 2022 came and went. Soon, vapers realized that the Canadian government failed to set the plan in motion.
Now, Canadian officials have refocused their efforts to ban not just flavored e-liquids, but also massively restrict the ingredients e-liquid manufacturers can use. If the proposal goes ahead, Health Canada will give manufacturers a list of under 100 flavoring ingredients. As expected, these ingredients are only permitted to create mint, menthol, and tobacco-flavored e-liquids.
Interestingly, the revival of the flavor ban has coincided with the appearance of a new Health Minister. Mark Holland was appointed on July. 26, 2023, and has always expressed a clear distaste for nicotine products. On the topic of tobacco companies, Holland has a clear message, “Stay the hell away from our kids.”2“‘Stay the hell away from our kids’: Feds propose new restrictions on nicotine pouches,” CTVNews, Mar. 20, 2024. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/stay-the-hell-away-from-our-kids-health-minister-seeks-new-restrictions-on-nicotine-pouch-flavours-marketing-and-sale-1.6815998
His dislike extends to vape products, especially those that are marketed as cessation tools. Holland believes that this is just a loophole through which “the tobacco industry was able to addict a whole new cohort of young people – who had no exposure to nicotine – to something that’s absolutely deadly for their health.”3“Federal government proposes restrictions on nicotine replacement products – March 20, 2024,” www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL-covA1ku8&ab_channel=cpac Granted, numerous studies show that e-cigarettes are not effective smoking cessation tools4S. Ghosh and M. B. Drummond, “Electronic cigarettes as smoking cessation tool,” Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 111–116, Mar. 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/mcp.0000000000000348.
However, data shows that the problem of youth uptake is not as common as it once was. The Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs Survey for 2021-2022 found that 29% (623,000) of students in grades 7 to 12 had ever tried an e-cigarette5“Summary of results for the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey 2021,” www.canada.ca, May 15, 2023. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/canadian-student-tobacco-alcohol-drugs-survey/2021-2022-summary.html, which marks a 5% decrease from a few years previous.
The same survey also found that 14% (284,000) of students had ever tried both cigarettes and e-cigarettes, a 2% decrease from 2018-2019. Of those students, 29% (81,000) tried a cigarette first, and 53% (147,000) tried an e-cigarette first.
In short, fewer young people are using e-cigarettes, but those who do are more likely to have started consuming nicotine via vape devices rather than traditional cigarettes.
Taken at a glance, the data affirms Holland’s belief that Big Tobacco has simply repackaged nicotine to appeal to young people. But what about the adult vapers in Canada who use e-cigarettes to keep their cigarette cravings at bay? The health of young people should always be a central concern, but not at the expense of other citizens.
