by Morinville News Staff
Out of sight, out of mind is the attitude of the federal government as one means to deal with what it says is a rapid rise in youth vaping.
Federal Minister of Health Patty Hajdu proposed new regulations on December 19 to prohibit the promotion and advertising of vaping products anywhere they can be seen or heard by youth.
The federal move means the public will no longer see advertising for vaping products in public spaces, in convenience stores or online.
Advertising vaping products will be restricted to specialty shops, businesses and online spaces accessible by adults only.
“The latest statistics—which show that vaping has doubled among high school students—are alarming,” Hadju said in a media release. “We share the concerns of many parents, medical professionals, and health officials. We are working with experts and all Canadians to find ways to prevent youth from vaping. The new measures announced today will help, but there is more to do. We are working on further steps to protect youth and our message remains clear: vaping comes with serious risks.”
The proposed regulations include new mandatory health warnings on vaping product packaging. Packaging must be child-resistant, and nicotine content will be limited to ensure vaping products are not toxic to children if accidentally ingested.
The Canada Gazette will have Part I of the regulations on December 21, 2019. A public comment period for the rules will be open for 30 days.
The Canada Gazette will publish its final labelling and packaging requirements in Part II of the regulations, to be released on Christmas Eve.
An email to those in the industry from James Van Loon, Director General of the Tobacco Control Directorate, outlined the new rules:
“The Vaping Products Labelling and Packaging Regulations(VPLPR) require that vaping products that contain vaping substances display important health and safety information. Vaping products containing nicotine must display a standardized nicotine concentration statement and a health warning about the addictiveness of nicotine. In addition, vaping products containing nicotine must be packaged in child-resistant containers and display a toxicity warning and first aid treatment statement. A list of ingredients must be displayed on vaping substances, regardless of nicotine content. Refillable vaping devices and their parts must be child-resistant.”
Thomas Kirsop of Alternatives and Options, a local vape shop, said there is currently no refillable device in the world market that has been put through the required testing protocols to meet Canadian classification for Child Resistant.
The proposed regulations on childproof units would come into force on January 21, 2021, giving the industry a year to meet the requirements.
It’s a move that’s certainly reasonable, given the actions of juul,vype and other big tobacco vape systems. It’s unfortunate that the actual vaping industry has to suffer even further restrictions, due to no fault of their own, but because of the actions of big tobacco and convenience store/gas stations. You are punishing the wrong people with some of the unreasonable regulations based on emotion and not actual evidence or science.
About time!
We had a 16 yr old whos bank card had been used at the shop 3 times. As best we can figure the bank card was passed off to a friend who either has valid ID or fake ID. This will now cost me almost 600 dollars a month for two ID scanners and the associated fees to ensure data privacy and protection standards are maintained… It’s not about time… It’s about who gets held accountable for someone else’s deliberate actions. I get to pay, with money that should have either paid for a part timer, or gone to my family. My customers from age 18 to 88 now get to have their ID scanned for every purchase. The 16 yr old? He’s probably getting a video game. Merry Christmas.