Ottawa wants to reduce the amount of nicotine allowed in vaping products to make them less appealing to young people.
Health Canada announced Friday its proposal to lower the maximum level of nicotine allowed in vaping products that are manufactured or imported into Canada. The current limit is 66 mg / ml and Ottawa wants to lower it to 20 mg / ml.
The government also wants to ban the sale of any vaping product whose nicotine concentration indicated on the packaging is above the new limit.
“We continue to work to protect Canadians from the harms of vaping products. These changes will reduce the appeal of these products to young people, ”Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement.
The ministry is launching a 75-day public consultation on the proposed new regulations on Saturday, seeking comments from all Canadians. The consultation will end on March 4.
The government is also considering imposing additional regulatory measures that would limit flavors in vaping products and prompt the industry to disclose more information about their products, including details on sales, ingredients, and research and development.
The proposal well received
The Canadian Cancer Society welcomed the government’s approach, recalling that British Columbia, Nova Scotia and the European Union have already limited the concentration of nicotine on vaping products to 20 mg / ml, while Quebec has announced its intention to do so. Some products currently sold here contain almost three times as much.
“The high rate of vaping among young people is of great concern and demonstrates the need for new regulations,” said Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society. The high levels of nicotine have contributed to the fact that a new generation of young people have developed an addiction to nicotine through electronic cigarettes. “
Heart & Stroke agreed, but encouraged the government to go even further.
“We also urge Health Canada to quickly adopt other important measures to counter the vaping crisis among young people, in particular by completely banning flavors and increasing taxes,” suggested Dr. Andrew Pipe, member of the Board of Heart + Stroke.
Industry dissatisfied
The Association of Vaping Industry Representatives (ARIV) believes that a lower limit of nicotine would have less incentive for smokers of cigarettes and other tobacco products to switch to vaping products, which are considered less harmful to health.
“Given the disparity in harms between vaping and smoking, we don’t understand why the federal government would use Health Canada’s resources during a global pandemic to explore the possibility of making it harder for adult smokers to switch to a product. at reduced risk, ”lamented Daniel David, president of ARIV, in a press release.
The same story goes on the side of the Canadian Convenience Store Industry Council, which also criticizes the government for giving it too little time to adapt.
“The proposed implementation date of just two weeks is simply not achievable for our retailers. Previous implementation timelines were several months, not days, which gives convenience stores time to comply, ”said Anne Kothawala, President and CEO.
“This will impose significant costs on our industry at a time when businesses grapple with the economic and health impacts of COVID-19.”
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