N
F
E
R
H
FEATURES
CANADA
CRACKS DOWN
on nicotine
But could new Ontario e-cig rules become a
template for the world to follow?
Words: Gordon Stribling
Smoking kills an estimated 8 million people every year. But while
mounting evidence demonstrates the huge role vaping has played
in bringing smoker numbers down, governments around the world
continue to bring in measures to make it harder for smokers to
switch, all in the name of reducing youth use.
Canada’s Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) was lauded
when it was introduced in 2018. The balanced measures
included provisions to encourage adult smokers to switch while
discouraging youth use.
But the findings from a recent study reveal just how far behind
the UK Canada and neighbouring America are when it comes to
controlling youth use.
The survey, published in the journal JAMA Paediatrics, revealed
a significant increase in vaping use among more than 12,000 16
to 19-year-olds. Past-month vaping more than doubled from 8.4
percent in 2017 to 17.8 percent in 2019.
While the past-month figure could be dismissed as experimentation,
the survey also found that the number of young people who vape
for more than 20 days of the previous month increased from 1.8
percent to 5.7 percent.
Still well below what some detractors have called an ‘epidemic’.
Nonetheless, these valid concerns have reignited the nicotine
debate. Health Canada caps nicotine content at 66 milligrams
per millilitre - more than treble that of the UK, where youth use
remains much lower.
A spokesperson for the regulator said: “Health Canada is
considering taking further action to reduce the appeal of these
products to young Canadians, including further restricting nicotine
concentration and flavours, as well as other possible measures
described in the April 2019 consultation.”
David Hammond, a public health professor at the University of
Waterloo who led the youth study, implicated the likes of highnicotine
JUUL pods for the increase in youth use. The products are
widely available in convenience stores and gas stations around
the country.
He said: “We’ve seen increases in the use of Juul and Juul-like
products among kids to the same extent in Canada as the U.S.,
so that’s why we think that that probably is the main reason that
explains why England has not seen the same increases.”
While some of the provinces have already introduced strict
regulatory changes to address the problem, Ontario’s new
approach could provide a template for the rest of the world to
follow.
Early in May, the Ministry of Health wrote to industry stakeholders
to inform them of amendments to its vaping regulation aimed at
reducing youth uptake.
And unlike America’s outright ban on flavours that the government
believed would appeal to youth users, the amended regulations
are set to be a huge win for the independent industry as vapers
are given an incentive to visit specialty vape shops.
The provisions are as follows:
The full range of flavoured products will be restricted to vape
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