More than 400,000 young Canadians are using vaping products, according to a new survey conducted by Health Canada in 2019.
“Canada Gazette” , proposing a ban on flavored vape products except for tobacco, mint and menthol was published on ,June 18, 2021.
On June 22, Canadian health advocates and vapor industry groups criticized Canada’s proposal to ban all flavored vape products except tobacco, mint, and menthol, according to a foreign news release.
The draft legislation, published in the Canada Gazette on June 19, was criticized by tobacco control advocates and by the Canadian Electronic Vapor Association (CVA).
The CVA warned that the flavoring ban if implemented, could force hundreds of thousands of consumers back into smoking or the black market.
The organization wrote in a press release that there is growing evidence that flavors can reduce smoking addiction and improve smoking cessation success rates. Research from the Yale School of Public Health found that smokers who quit were 2.5 times more likely to be successful in quitting than others.
Darryl Tempest, executive director of CVA, said we have repeatedly shared the science on e-cigarettes. Regulators are aware of the important role “taste” plays in the adoption of e-cigarettes by smokers. A flavoring ban would make the product less attractive and would sentence many smokers to death. There is enough data from areas where flavor bans are in place to clearly understand the consequences. A flavor ban would do little to protect young people, but instead would increase smoking rates and strengthen the black market.
In contrast, ASH Canada describes the decision to exempt mint and menthol from the flavor ban as an unacceptable concession to the e-cigarette industry.
ASH Executive Director Les Hagen said in a statement that the proposed regulations would not adequately protect Canadian youth from flavored e-cigarette products. Menthol is the second most popular flavor among youth e-cigarette users. The partial ban on flavored e-cigarette products in the United States has led to a significant shift to menthol-flavored products. If these regulations are approved, we expect a similar outcome in Canada.
Florie Ducasse, co-director and spokesperson for the Quebec Tobacco Control Coalition, said there is no scientific basis to exempt menthol e-cigarette products. Menthol is the second most popular flavor among young people, tied with mango. We know that taste is one of the main factors that attract young people to e-cigarettes, leading to a variety of health risks in addition to being one of the most addictive substances on the planet.
Health organizations have decried the impact of the e-cigarette industry on the debate.ASH quotes The Lobby Monitor as saying that CVA was the most active of all the lobby groups on Parliament Hill in May.
More than 400,000 Canadian youth are using e-cigarette products, according to a recent survey conducted by Health Canada in 2019.
Stakeholders can comment on Canada’s draft flavor regulations. until September 2, 2021.
Health Canada has also issued new limits on nicotine concentrations in vapor products. These regulations set the maximum nicotine concentration in e-cigarette products at 20 mg/ml to make them less appealing to young people. The regulations also prohibit the packaging and sale of e-cigarette products if the nicotine concentration of the product exceeds this limit. Manufacturers must comply with this limit by July 8, 2021; after July 23, 2021, retailers may not sell products that exceed this limit.
