New Brunswick moves to pressure vape stores to follow rules
Continued sale of flavoured products is 'disappointing,' Canadian Cancer Society analyst says
On Aug. 26, a New Brunswick vape store shared a post on social media urging customers to get their flavoured vape products before a "provincial flavour ban" took effect on Sept. 1.
But a ban wasn't on the way. It was a heap of changes to the province's Tobacco and Electronic Cigarette Sales Act, which already bans vaping products that aren't tobacco flavoured.
The amendments, introduced in March, include licensing requirements for any store that sells vaping products, increased licensing fees, mandatory ID checks for those who look under 25, banning the sale of flavour additives in vape shops, and new powers when it comes to inspecting shops and seizing products.
Flavoured vaping products were previously banned in 2021 in a bid to curb the number of young people getting into vaping. But the government says it soon found that many businesses weren't complying with the change in regulations.
According to figures from the Department of Justice and Public Safety in the province, 38 charges have been laid for non-compliance since April 1, 2022, which can lead to a fine of between $240 and $5,200.
Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst for the Canadian Cancer Society, says he supports the new amendments and believes they'll make a big difference.
He says youth vaping in the province is "a tremendous issue" and prevention is a very important priority.
According to the latest numbers from the New Brunswick Student Wellness and Education Survey, 24 per cent of youth in grades 6-12 have tried vaping, while 38 per cent say they have a close friend who vapes.
"The flavours of e-cigarettes are a major factor, contributing to youth wanting to use these products," Cunningham says.
Paula Keating, president of the New Brunswick Medical Society, says her organization supports all attempts to reduce the appeal and accessibility of vaping products for youth in the province.
"If something tastes better, you're more likely to try it than if something tastes bland and is not inviting," Keating says.
She says her organization has been working with groups like the New Brunswick Lung Association and the Canadian Cancer Society to push for stricter legislation.
Cunningham says the failure of some vape stores to comply with provincial regulations is "tremendously disappointing."
"The province has had to respond with strengthened legislation, which the province has done. We support the provincial government for doing that," he says.
The new legislative and regulatory changes will give inspectors more authority to inspect shops, seize illegal products, and suspend and revoke vape shop licences, Cunningham says.
"We need to have effective compliance," he says. "Having better inspection and seizure authority for inspectors is going to make a big difference."
Adrian Forsythe, a lawyer representing about 15 vape shop owners at the provincial court level, declined to comment on how the regulations have impacted his clients.
CBC News also called and emailed a number of vape shops in Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton, but no one responded to a request for an interview.
Keating says her organization continues to push for new legislation to raise the minimum age to buy vaping products to 21.
"When the minimum age is 19, a 17- or 18-year-old is more likely to have a brother or sister or friend purchase for them that is under the age of 21. Whereas if you increase the age of 21, that's less likely to happen," Keating says.
Cunningham says changing the age limit to 21 is a cheap and effective way to cut down on nicotine addiction among youth and he wants to see the province move forward with the change.
"We've made progress to reducing smoking. But now a new generation of kids is becoming addicted to nicotine through e-cigarettes. That shouldn't be happening, we need to be pressing in our measures to do this," Cunningham says.
Constitutional challenge on flavour ban
But in 2021, a group of people that included vape shop owners and users, filed a lawsuit against the province alleging that the flavour ban violated their constitutional rights.
The group also tried to have the ban suspended until the case was heard, but that motion was denied in 2022.
Mel Norton, the lawyer handling the constitutional challenge, says "the matter is continuing through the litigation process."
Federal regulations on vaping products
Cunningham says a growing number of countries have banned flavoured vaping products, but the changes have been too recent to measure their full impact.
"We see five U.S. states and the District of Columbia in the U.S. In Canada, we see six provinces and territories banning the flavours other than tobacco flavoured. In Europe, you have countries such as Netherlands and Denmark, Finland and Hungary, among others," he said.
The other five provinces and territories in Canada that have banned flavoured vape products are Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Quebec.
In June 2021, the federal government proposed Canada-wide regulations that would restrict vape product flavours to tobacco, mint and menthol. But according to a 2024 report from Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, these regulations have been under review since 2022.
Cunningham says his organization is urging the federal government to finalize the new regulations "as soon as possible."
While it's illegal to ship flavoured products from a province where they're allowed, he says federal regulations would help with enforcement when it comes to illegal inter-provincial sales.
"The sooner the federal government could do that, the greater the impact is going to be to reduce youth vaping," Cunningham said.
Corrections
- A previous version of this story said flavoured tobacco products were banned in New Brunswick in 2021. In fact, they were banned in 2016.Sep 18, 2024 10:24 AM AT
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