IMPERIAL TOBACCO CANADA WARNS THAT THE PROPOSED FEDERAL FLAVOUR REGULATIONS ON VAPING PRODUCTS WOULD MAKE A LESS HARMFUL ALTERNATIVE MORE HARMFUL Français
Known carcinogens are included in the list of permitted vapour product ingredients
MONTREAL, June 13, 2024 /CNW/ - Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITCAN) is once again warning Health Canada that there are dangerous ingredients included in the allowable list of vapour products additives, as detailed in the proposed Order Amending Schedules 2 and 3 to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (Flavours).
"We outlined our concerns about the permitted additive list in our submission to Health Canada and in meetings, however, we fear that our warnings have fallen on deaf ears," said Eric Gagnon, Vice President, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs. "To put it bluntly, the list contains at least one known substance that could cause cancer."
Several ingredients on the Flavour Ban Proposal list of permitted ingredients are substances that we, and our parent company BAT, do not categorically use in our vaping products. This is because BAT's rigorous toxicological risk assessment prevents the use of substances classified as having carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) properties, as per Globally Harmonised System (GHS) for classification and labelling of substances.1
It is shocking that the government would include a proven and classified CMR substance in its lists of permitted additives for vaping products. The effect of a regulation that formally permits such ingredients is simply an encouragement to manufacturers - particularly smaller producers with limited access to scientific literature - to use an inherently unsafe substance in a product that is designed to be inhaled into the lungs.
"One such example is isophorone. This substance is classified by the European Union as cancer-causing and acutely toxic.2 It is also banned by Canadian food and drug regulations from use in human cosmetics. Yet, if the proposed regulations pass it can be used in vapour products," said Mr. Gagnon. "This list has the potential of turning vapour products, which are proven to be less risky to health than smoking, into a product that could be very harmful to consumers."
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2 https://echa.europa.eu/substance-information/-/substanceinfo/100.001.024 |
ITCAN recommends that more research is needed into a proposed ingredients list. ITCAN supports an ingredient ban relating to any substance registered under the GHS that have carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic (CMR) properties, or respiratory sensitization capacity in their vaporized form.
"We encourage Health Canada to reconsider the list and consult with experts to determine the best way forward," said Mr. Gagnon. "We are transforming, and our principal focus area is reducing the health impact of our business by bringing less harmful alternatives to the market. Health Canada should be doing the same. These regulations do not improve the public health of Canadians."
Imperial Tobacco Canada is Canada's leading tobacco and nicotine products company and is part of the world's most international tobacco group: BAT. BAT is a global multi-category consumer goods business, operating in over 180 markets. At BAT, our purpose is to create A Better Tomorrow™ by Building a Smokeless World.
Our vision is for A Smokeless World built on smokeless products where, ultimately, cigarettes have become a thing of the past. A world where smokers have migrated from cigarettes to smokeless alternatives. A world where smokers make a Switch to Better.
SOURCE Imperial Tobacco Canada
For more information or interview requests, please contact: Mary Moniz, Torchia Communications, 647-278-0152, [email protected]; Dalia Esposito, Torchia Communications, 514-654-2635, [email protected]
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