National ban on vaping flavors coming ‘soon’, says Addictions Minister

The minister of mental health and addictions says the federal government will soon ban most vape flavors across Canada — more than three years after Ottawa first promised to introduce the regulations.

“We made a commitment from the beginning to limit flavors. We have not deviated from that,” Ya’ara Saks told CBC News last week.

“We’ll have this done soon. I don’t expect this to take much longer.” She did not specify a timeline.

Saks’ promise comes next a coalition of anti-tobacco health groups held a press conference in Ottawa earlier this month to call on Saks to quickly implement the ban or resign.

They accused her of bowing to pressure from the vaping industry by failing to finalize regulations this spring. as the federal government had planned.

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Addictions Minister says she won’t implement ‘slow walking’ national ban on vape flavor

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks speaks with CBC News’ Marina von Stackelberg about how Ottawa plans to learn from Quebec’s experience banning flavored vaping products before national restrictions are introduced. The federal government promised the ban more than three years ago.

In June 2021, Health Canada cited a “rapid increase in vaping among youth in Canada.” promised to limit vaping flavors to mint, menthol and tobacco.

“It is believed that the availability of a variety of desirable flavors has contributed to the increase in vaping among young people,” Health Canada said at the time, pointing to research showing that young people are more likely to start vaping with fruity and sweet flavors .

Three years after that warning, Canada has now done so one of the highest rates of vaping among teens in the world; Statistics Canada reports this almost half of all young adults have tried vaping. According to the most recent Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, most new vape users (86 percent) have never been cigarette smokers.

“We know that young people are now being exposed first to vaping,” Saks said.

While Ottawa has consulted on regulations over the past three years, six provinces and territories have introduced their own flavor bans: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Quebec.

Saks said the delay in national regulations is due to Health Canada wanting to learn from Quebec’s experience. That province banned flavors a year ago.

“We have seen in jurisdictions like Quebec where the ban on flavors has led to an illegal market being accessed,” she said. “So as we move forward with this, we want to make sure we get it right.”

The federal government wants to ensure the regulations are enforceable and will not inadvertently encourage the sale of underground flavored vapors, she said.

“To be clear, there is no slow walking involved,” Saks said. “It’s about what are the lessons we can learn now?”

LOOK | Anti-tobacco groups call on minister to ban flavored vapors or resign:

Anti-tobacco groups are calling on the Addictions Minister to ban flavored vapes or resign

National anti-tobacco and health groups are calling on the minister of mental health and addictions to resign after failing to regulate vaping flavors that appeal to children after three years of promises to do so.

But Flory Doucas, co-director of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control, said Quebec’s emerging illicit market is precisely why there should be a national ban on flavorings now.

Currently, customers in Quebec can easily order flavored vaping products approved by Health Canada from a retailer operating outside a non-ban province.

“The argument … of delaying regulation because there are problems in the provinces is quite rich, because the federal framework has made it very easy for the industry to circumvent these provincial regulations,” Doucas said.

Doucas said the nicotine and vaping industries are quickly looking for loopholes in new restrictions, but that shouldn’t be a reason for the federal government to wait so long.

“We have been dealing with an industry that has been successful in delaying these regulations,” Doucas said.

The vaping industry held its own press conference in Ottawa last week to call on Saks not to ban flavors.

Adult smokers rely on vaping as a less harmful option to cigarettes and appealing flavors make it easier for them to switch, says Sam Tam, president of the Canadian Vaping Association.

“A blanket ban on flavorings will do absolutely nothing to protect Canadians, especially our youth,” he said.

Saks has so far kept relatively quiet about Ottawa’s plans to implement a flavor ban. Health Minister Mark Holland, meanwhile, was an outspoken critic of nicotine pouches banned the sale of pouches with fruity flavors within a year of hitting the shelves.

Saks said the fact that vaping has been around much longer makes regulating it more difficult.

“The [nicotine pouch] The market is a newer market that Secretary Holland was able to capture before it had spread,” Saks said. “Vap products have been around for a long time. And we’ve also seen shifts and changes in the marketplace.

“I’m touched by this. We want to get this out as quickly as possible.”

LOOK | Vaping is more difficult to regulate than nicotine pouches, says minister:

Vaping is more difficult to regulate than new nicotine products, the minister says

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Ya’ara Saks speaks with CBC News’ Marina von Stackelberg about why the federal government is still trying to ban vape flavors more than three years after promising to do so — but succeeded in banning nicotine pouch flavors in less than a year.