The Province has proposed new legislation regarding vape products
Published February 28, 2020 at 7:45 pm
The Province is proposing new legislation that would limit where flavoured and high nicotine vapour products can be sold.
Additionally, flavoured vapour products will only be permitted to be sold at specialty vape stores and cannabis stores with the exception of menthol, mint and tobacco flavours.
Further, vapour products with more than 20 mg/ml of nicotine can be sold exclusively at specialty vape stores.
As well, specialty vape stores must ensure their displays of vape-related products are not visible from outside the store.
“Young Ontarians are increasingly using and becoming addicted to nicotine vaping products, putting their health at risk,” said Elliott. “I’ve heard directly from concerned parents who grow more worried each and every day about the health of their kids,” Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, said in a news release.
“As a mother myself, I know there’s a clear case for action to curb the alarming increase in youth vaping. That’s why we are taking a balanced approach that protects our children and youth while also avoiding fuelling an underground market for unsafe vapour products,” she continued.
The Province has also announced its intention to expand mental health and addiction services and resources to include vaping and nicotine addiction; as well as increase access to services to help people quit vaping by expanding Telehealth Ontario.
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If passed, these changes would be implemented on May 1, 2020–with the exception of the restriction on the sale of high-nicotine vape products, which would come into effect July 1, 2020.
These changes come after alarming evidence has indicated there has been a 74 per cent increase in the number of teens ages 16 to 19 vaping from 2017 to 2018.
According to the available data, nearly 11 per cent of students in grades seven to 12 used e-cigarettes in 2017–only 19 per cent of whom were in grade 12.
The Province is also calling on the federal government to implement a national tax on vaping products, which would minimize regulatory burden and ensure a consistent tax treatment across the country.
“Vaping and the associated risks are a national health concern,” Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance, said in the same release.
“I have strongly advocated to the federal government to work with Ontario and other provinces and territories on a national approach to taxing vapour products. Keeping kids safe is a national health concern and the evidence is clear–a tax could be an effective way to deter young people from vaping,” he continued.
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