Vape Shop Owner Fighting Nova Scotia Restrictions

The latest round of restrictions for the vaping industry by Nova Scotia’s government has caught the ire of the co-owner of a vape shop in Dartmouth. William MacEachern of the Cloud Factory Vape Shop is seeking an injunction against the eastern Canadian province’s newest restrictions on vaping, arguing they unfairly burden adults who are trying to kick a bad habit.

MacEachern launched a constitutional challenge against increased taxes on vaping products, a ban on flavored e-cigarettes and e-liquids, and a prohibition on sampling items in vaping shops, according to Global News. His lawyers say the case is about Nova Scotians’ access to a valuable harm reduction tool in the war against a “No. 1″ killer: cigarettes.

“In basically doubling the cost of our applicant’s vaping products, it greatly reduces their access,” said MacEachern’s lawyer, Sarah Emery. “We’re not arguing that he has an economic interest to cheap vape products as a recreational use, we’re arguing this is a matter of access and that goes to Section 7 rights to security of the person.”

Emery and her partners at Patterson law are seeking an immediate suspension of vaping rules that came into effect in 2020 — rules that earned the province a good deal of praise from Canadian health advocates when first announced in 2019.

In April 2020, Nova Scotia became the first Canadian province to ban the sale of flavored vape juices and e-cigarettes in an effort to reduce their appeal to youth. Higher taxes went into effect in September that year, bringing the rate to 50 cents per ml of e-liquid, and 20 percent of the retail price of all devices.