New regulations: Banning flavours will protect young Quebecers from the lure of electronic cigarettes

MONTREAL, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - The Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control applauds the Government of Quebec and Health Minister Christian Dubé for the publication in the Official Gazette this morning of a draft regulation to counter vaping among youth. The proposed regulation is strong and contains several important measures to reduce the appeal of vaping products, including a ban on the sale of liquids with fruit, mint or menthol flavours, the most popular flavour categories among youth.

"The ban on flavors other than tobacco is the most important measure to reduce the appeal of vaping to youth and will have a huge impact on the use of e-cigarettes by teenagers," says Flory Doucas, spokesperson for the Coalition. "These regulations are long overdue and their pre-publication, just as the industry is introducing a new generation of devices to the Canadian market, is great news for the health and wellbeing of Quebec youth. The provisions are inspired by what has been done elsewhere but by combining several measures, Quebec will have one of the most comprehensive regulatory frameworks in the world. Trying flavors is the number one reason youth give for vaping. This measure, among others, will support the efforts of all parents, teachers and public health workers who are trying to prevent youth vaping through messages and education campaigns."

The proposed regulations follow through on the recommendations of the 2020 report from the National Director of Public Health by focussing on a priority basis on a series of regulatory measures (i.e., that don't require a change to the law). Once adopted, they will ban all fruit and mint flavours, as is already the case in other jurisdictions such as Finland, Hungary, some U.S. states including California and New York, and also in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The proposed regulations would also:

• limit nicotine concentration to 20 mg/ml (which will allow provincial inspectors to ensure compliance),
• limit the maximum volume for bottles and cartridges of liquids to 30ml and 2 ml respectively, as does British Columbia and the European directive,
• prohibit the sale of vaping products that are shaped like toys, jewelry, food, animals, real or fictional characters, or any other shape, appearance, or function that may be attractive to minors (e.g., device cases or clothing that facilitate stealth vaping), and
• require certain information to be included on the product and packaging, including nicotine concentration, volume of the liquid, and whether or not the liquid has a tobacco flavour or aroma.

Certified products would be exempt

"The goal is not to deprive smokers of flavoured vaping products, but to prevent the industry from creating new markets among non-smokers. With this regulation, Quebec is signaling that the marketing of flavored vaping products will henceforth be reserved to products certified on the basis of their specific therapeutic value. Indeed, it would be important to require flavoured e-cigarettes to submit to the normal certification process to which all drugs including pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation are subject," said the spokesperson.

"It's not too late for manufacturers to offer flavored versions to smokers: they just need to submit their products to the certification process, as all pharmaceutical companies have to do. Certified vaping products could contain flavours, just like other nicotine replacement therapies currently do. The difference is that contrary to the current free market approach, certified products would be sold in pharmacies. In addition, the certification process encourages industry to focus on the types of devices that are most effective for cessation and that have the fewest adverse effects," concludes Ms. Doucas. 

Industry scaremongering

"As was the case with flavoured cigarillos, it's only by banning flavoured vaping products that we can successfully counter the craze among young people for such tempting, easy-to-use and easily accessible products that are sold in several thousand stores across the province. And as for the alarmist scenarios put forward by the vaping industry concerning the potential explosion of contraband e-cigarettes or liquids, let's recall that many threats of imminent smuggling of cigarillos and mentholated cigarettes prophesized by the tobacco industry in 2015 before they were banned – which never materialized," explains Ms. Doucas.

It is important to note that, contrary to what is suggested by Imperial Tobacco Canada, the Canadian Vaping Association and the Coalition des droits des vapoteurs du Québec, the banning of flavours in other provinces has not resulted in increased smoking. In Nova Scotia, for example, the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) shows that the smoking rate fell from 18.3% in 2019 to 13.5% in 2021 even though they banned fruit and mint flavored liquids during that time (as of April 2020). 

Vigilance against opponents of this regulation

It's important to know that behind most of the opponents of tighter rules on flavour one finds corporate interests. There are groups that openly represent the interests of liquid and device importers, distributors and marketers, such as the Canadian Vaping Association and the Vaping Industry Representatives Association, but there are also entities that present themselves as grassroots movements even though they are often funded by e-cigarette manufacturers, including big tobacco. For example, although the group Rights4Vapers (or its Quebec chapter the Coalition des droits des vapoteurs du Québec) presents itself as a citizen's movement, its spokespersons are vaping industry merchants and the group has close ties with the tobacco industry and the Canadian vaping industry.

The legalization of electronic cigarettes with inadequate control in 2018 by the federal government has resulted in a rapid growth of vaping among youth, which has increased fivefold in Quebec between 2013 and 2019. This commercialization has caused more harm than good, with teens and young adults being the biggest losers. In fact, for every four additional former smokers who vaped since 2017, there were five additional non-smokers in 2021. This means that there are over 100,000 Quebecers aged 12 to 24 who are vaping without having been smokers. The rate of vaping among 12-24 year olds in Quebec (13.4%) is 3.6 times higher than among 25 year olds (3.7%). Among youth and young adults (12-24 years) who vape, the vast majority (91%) experience no benefit in terms of smoking cessation.

SOURCE Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control

Interviews: Ms. Flory Doucas, CQCT, Co-Director and spokesperson: 514-515-678