QUESTION PERIOD — Health
Regulation of Vaping Fluids
April 9, 2024
My question is directed to Senator Gold. This question has been asked before, but it is definitely worth asking again.
Vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it’s still not safe, and a new generation is getting hooked on nicotine. Experts say teen vaping rates in Canada are some of the highest in the world.
In June 2021, Health Canada proposed regulations that would prohibit flavours — with the exception of mint and menthol — from being added to e-cigarettes. Ottawa has yet to implement these regulations almost three years later. Now 15 Canadian health organizations — including the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society — and many international health organizations are calling for more: a ban on all flavourings, including mint and menthol, other than tobacco flavour.
When will the federal government act on its proposed ban, especially now that the health community is calling for even stronger action than before? Thank you.
Thank you for your question. The government remains committed to helping Canadians quit the use of tobacco, and remains committed to protecting the health of Canadians — young and not so young. The government will continue to restrict advertising, and it is in the process of assessing the proposals to limit vaping products, flavours, nicotine content and the online availability to which you referred.
There was, as you know, a consultation on this proposal, which closed in 2021. The government received 25,000 submissions. Given the time that has elapsed, the government has re-engaged recently with stakeholders on the proposal in order to obtain their feedback and bring it up to date. I’m advised that the government will have more to share in the months to come.
Will the government consider adding mint and menthol to the proposed regulations in terms of prohibiting those flavours? Thank you.
This is a matter that is amongst the issues that the government is considering and taking advice from stakeholders. Some provinces, including my own, have already done that. The government is looking seriously at all measures to reduce the attractiveness of vaping becoming a gateway to tobacco use.
