Group Says Feds Making it Harder to Quit Smoking

In late December of last year, the Government of Canada announced a proposal to lower the allowable levels of nicotine in vaping products from 66 milligrams per millilitre to 20 mg/ml in an effort to curb youth vaping. The public consultation period would be in effect for 75 days, closing on Mar. 4, 2021.

The proposed reduction is a move vaping advocates say will minimize their value to adult smokers looking to transition away from cigarettes, according to the Morinville News.

However, the Canada-based Vaping Industry Trade Association (VITA) says smokers having access to sufficient nicotine levels in an alternate product is essential to the effectiveness of vaping as a harm reduction product. “A limit of 20mg/mL is simply too low for many smokers,” Allan Rewak executive director of VITA stated in a media release. “Adult smokers need access to higher nicotine vapor products at the beginning of their journey from smoking to vaping. Lowering this limit is just going to keep more smokers smoking.”

The Canadian government is following a move by Nova Scotia, who in April of this year, instituted a 20mg/mL nicotine cap as well as a flavor ban. VITA says that change in the rules saw a 25 percent increase in legal cigarette sales increase, an increase four times higher than surrounding provinces. The regulations also resulted in half of the province’s specialty vape shops closing their doors.

“Considering the disparity of harm between vaping and smoking, we don’t understand why the federal government would be using Health Canada resources during a global pandemic to explore making it harder for adult smokers to switch to a reduced risk product,” said VITA president Daniel David.

Enforcement the real problem

The Government of Canada has previously put some measures in place to address youth vaping. Those changes include public education campaigns and banning the advertising of vaping products in public spaces if the ads can be seen or heard by youth.

Thomas Kirsop, owner of Alternatives & Options, a vape store in Morinville and St. Albert said he believes the government is taking the wrong approach with the nicotine reduction to handle the rise in youth vaping.

“A 60 percent reduction in commercially available nicotine concentration will impede my ability to assist the heaviest smokers,” Kirsop said. “It is a federal offence to knowingly sell vapor products to minors or for members of the adult population to provide these products to underaged consumers. In practice, however, I find this law poorly enforced. I think enforcing the current law would yield more significant gains than destroying the efficacy of a less harmful solution.”

Health Canada says restricting flavors in vaping products, and requiring the vaping industry to provide information about their vaping products, including sales, ingredients, and research and development activities are under consideration.