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Three anti-tobacco groups are calling on federal Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks to resign if she fails to pass regulations banning flavored vaping products.
At a news conference on Friday, the heads of Physicians of a Smoke-Free Canada, the Quebec Coalition of Tobacco Control and ASH Canada said they have been waiting 14 months for the minister to strengthen controls on the vaping market to protect children.
Draft regulations to remove sweeteners and most flavorings from vaping products were first published in the Canada Gazette in June 2021but they have not yet been completed.
“Rather than speaking out against an industry that is luring new customers with increasingly affordable, tasteful and playful devices, the minister actually met with the industry,” said Flory Doucas, co-director of the Quebec Coalition of Tobacco Control.
“If she is unwilling or unable to complete it in the coming weeks, we will ask her to resign and let someone else do the job.”
Flory Doucas, co-director of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control, and Les Hagen, executive director of ASH Canada, discuss their calls for Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks to resign if she fails to repeal the regulation to limit tobacco addiction. steamy flavors. Hagen says, “This is about protecting Canadian children.”
The anti-tobacco groups said other plans to regulate designs and packaging, further restrict minors’ access to the products and allow public access to tobacco and vaping industry data have been sidelined by the federal government.
Nicotine pouches fall under the Food and Drugs Act, which falls under the jurisdiction of the federal Minister of Health. But vaping products fall under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, overseen by Saks.
The Canadian Lobbyist Register shows that Saks met with representatives from the Canadian Vaping Association and Rights 4 Vapers on May 23 to discuss the regulations.
Les Hagen, executive director of ASH Canada, said Friday it was “very concerning” that Saks had recently met with vaping lobby groups.
“The regulatory process has stalled and it has stalled after meetings with the vaping industry,” he said.
“We have had weak ministers in this file. We have had strong ministers in this file. And if this minister needs some inspiration, she should talk to her colleague, [Health Minister] Mark Holland,” said Hagen.
The newest Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey says there were 240,100 more vapers in 2022-23 than in 2021-22, and 86 percent of them (206,900) never smoked before starting vaping.
More than half of youth aged 15 to 19 (178,000) and young adults aged 20 to 24 (282,000) who vaped within a month of responding to the 2022 Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey reported experiencing a fruit flavor generally.
“This problem has gotten out of hand, and the main reason they are smoking vaping products is because of all the flavors,” Hagen said.
Data from Statistics Canada shows that Canadian youth are more likely to vape than members of older generations.
In 2022, Canadians were between the ages of 15 and 19 more than twice as likely have tried vaping than those aged 25 and older and almost half (47.5 percent) of Canadians aged 20 to 24 have tried vaping.
“This is an addiction that is not on the same level as drinking coffee. This is an addiction that affects people’s daily lives,” said Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.
Flavored vapors continue to reach provinces where a ban is in place
Doucas said that until the federal government bans flavored vapes nationwide, these items will continue to make their way into provinces where their sale is banned.
So far, six provinces or territories have passed legislation to ban flavored vapes: New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
Distributors and manufacturers from other provinces are shipping non-compliant vaping products to Quebec, Doucas said.
“These are companies that the federal government is aware of,” she said, adding that Ottawa’s inaction “is hurting the provinces that have tried to protect their youth.”
Saks’ office declined an interview with the minister, but did issue a statement.
“We have also been clear: flavors will be restricted. But we must do this the right way so that regulations do not create loopholes that further endanger our youth or become difficult to enforce,” the statement said .
Sam Tam, president of the Canadian Vaping Association — a lobby group representing the vaping industry — said it’s important to give adults the “freedom” to choose flavored vape products to quit smoking.
“We can’t forget the adults,” Tam said, adding that if someone who smokes tobacco “suddenly tries a mango flavor, there’s no doubt they’ll switch easily.” [from cigarettes] because it’s much tastier.”
Eric Gagnon, vice-president of corporate and regulatory affairs at Imperial Tobacco Canada, said in a news release Friday that numerous studies from several countries “highlight the importance of offering basic flavors in smoking cessation products” to help people quit smoking .
“What is currently unfolding among certain interest groups is an example of a deep level of hypocrisy,” he said, accusing those groups of prioritizing attacks on his company and the minister over “the health and well-being of Canadians.”
“It is time to end the fighting, do what is right for Canadians and work together,” he added.
