Tag: Canadian Vaping Association

  • Study Finds Flavor Bans Boost Combustible Sales

    Study Finds Flavor Bans Boost Combustible Sales

    Credit: Balint Radu

    A new study has found that flavor bans boost sales of traditional combustible cigarettes. The study, E-cigarette Flavor Restrictions’ Effects on Tobacco Product Sales, concluded that restrictions on the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products could lead to significant increases in traditional cigarette sales.

    “Given that combustible cigarettes are widely recognized as more harmful than vaping, the study’s findings raise pressing questions about the public health implications of such policies, according to a release from the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA). The group “urges Canadian governments to review the study’s findings and ensure that vapor product regulations are inline with harm reduction and Canada’s Drugs and Substances Strategy.”

    Key Highlights from the study include:

    Substitution to Cigarettes: For every 1 less 0.7 mL pod sold due to flavor restrictions, there’s an increase of 15 additional cigarettes purchased.

    Rise in Cigarette Sales Over Time: While the short-term effects are less clear, the long-term correlation between vaping flavor policies and a surge in cigarette sales is robust. This surge occurs especially when such policies have been in place for a year or more.

    Young Population at Risk: The relation between vaping flavor restrictions and increased cigarette sales isn’t limited to a particular age group. Alarmingly, there’s also a surge in sales for cigarette brands popular among underage youth.

    The research firmly underscores the unintended consequences of restricting flavored product sales, according to CVA. While the research indicated that these policies do achieve their goal of reducing flavored product use, they inadvertently boost the sales of traditional cigarettes across all age groups.

    Given the stark difference in health risks between cigarettes and vaping, the study contends that the overall health benefits of such policies may be minimal or even potentially harmful in the broader perspective.

  • Vaping Group Blasts Quebec Flavor Ban Proposal

    Vaping Group Blasts Quebec Flavor Ban Proposal

    Photo: vmargineanu

    A proposal by the government of Quebec to ban nontobacco-flavored nicotine vaping products will have negative consequences for public health if enacted, according to the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA).

    In addition to the flavor restrictions, the recently released draft legislation proposes a volume limit of 2 mL on prefilled devices and a limit of 30 mL on refill containers. Additionally, the regulations would restrict nicotine concentrations to 20 mg/mL and prohibit the use of any form, appearance or function that may be attractive to minors, both of which have already been regulated by the federal government.

    If the draft rules are implemented, Quebec, with its population of 8.5 million, will become the largest Canadian province to prohibit flavors, according to media reports. Quebec is the country’s second-most populous province. According to the Alliance of Vape Shops in Quebec, there are over 400 independent vape shops in the province, employing over 2,200 people and generating more than $300 million in economic activity. The trade group predicts the shops will all close.

    Quebec’s decision to ban flavors is a major win for tobacco companies, out-of-province vendors and contraband sellers.

    In 2021, federal health agency Health Canada proposed a flavor ban that was scheduled to take effect in early 2022, but that plan seems to have been abandoned or postponed indefinitely without explanation. Health Canada’s updated vaping products regulations page makes no mention of the flavor restrictions.

    The CVA says Quebec proposed its rules despite warnings by the industry about their negative impacts. Vaping is proven to be significantly less harmful than smoking, according to the CVA, which says there is substantial evidence from jurisdictions that have already implemented flavor bans that the public health outcome is negative, as many vapers will return to smoking and fewer smokers will switch to vaping.

    “Quebec’s decision to ban flavors is a major win for tobacco companies, out-of-province vendors and contraband sellers,” said Darryl Tempest, government relations counsel to the CVA board, in a statement. “What Quebec has done is shift demand to tobacco owned products, retailers outside of Quebec and criminals. Quebec’s small businesses and domestic industry will be irreparably harmed in favor of multinational corporations,” said Tempest.

  • Canada Opens Consultation on Tobacco And Vaping Act

    Canada Opens Consultation on Tobacco And Vaping Act

    Photo: JHVEPhoto

    The government of Canada has opened public consultation on the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) ahead of its mandatory parliamentary review. Stakeholders can provide input until April 27, 2022.

    In 2018, the TVPA was amended to protect youth and nonsmokers. The amended act recognized that vaping was significantly less harmful than smoking, and smokers that switched to vaping could reduce their exposure to thousands of chemicals. The Act introduced measures to protect youth through various labeling and promotion regulations.

    Tobacco harm reduction advocates welcomed the consultation. “Vaping has helped millions of smokers quit and has the potential to help millions more if it weren’t for the misrepresentations of the industry by media and misperceptions surrounding the product itself. It is imperative that Parliamentarians have the opportunity to hear from a wide range of experts as part of the TVPA review process,” said Darryl Tempest, government relations advisor to the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA)

    Health Canada’s discussion paper states, “For adults who smoke, there appears to be a lack of awareness that vaping products are a less harmful source of nicotine for those who currently smoke and switch completely to vaping. A 2020 survey found that only 22 percent of current smokers recognized that vaping is less harmful than smoking cigarettes.”

    In its consultation submission, the CVA will urge Health Canada to rectify this through the issue of relative risk statements for approved use by licensed specialty vape shops. In 2018, Health Canada proposed a “List of Statements for Use in the Promotion of Vaping Products.” According to the CVA, this proposal has been put on the back-burner and has languished in Health Canada’s bureaucracy to the detriment of potential public health gains from smokers switching to vaping.

    “Instead of issuing reasonable statements for use by specialty vape shops, the TVPA has effectively gagged the vape industry through Section 30.43,” the CVA wrote in a press release. Section 30.43 prohibits “the promotion of a vaping product in a manner that could cause a person to believe that health benefits may be derived from the use of the product or from its emission or by comparing the health effects arising from the use of the product or from its emissions with those arising from the use of a tobacco product or from its emissions. The purpose of this prohibition is to prevent the public from being deceived or misled with respect to the health hazards of using vaping products.”

    “The CVA looks forward to actively participating in the review process and will advocate for enhanced measures to protect youth, as well as increased smoker targeted messaging on the benefits of switching to vaping. We encourage all stakeholders to submit feedback,” said Tempest.

  • Ontario MPP Reintroduces Anti-Youth Vaping Bill

    Ontario MPP Reintroduces Anti-Youth Vaping Bill

    A lawmaker in Ontario has reintroduced a bill to help prevent youth from taking up e-cigarettes. If passed, the bill would bump the legal age of selling products to 21, prohibit the promotion of vaping products, restrict sale to vape shops and require Ontario Health to do an annual report on vaping usage.

    Credit: FellowNeko

    The bill has earned praise from the Lung Health Association and the Canadian Cancer Society, which both say greater government oversight is required, according to CTV News. Both point to statistics from Health Canada that say the symptoms of vaping, or vaping-related illness, can include cough, fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

    “We limit the sale of cannabis, we limit the sale to specialty stores only, we don’t sell cannabis in convenience stores or gas stations, but we sell cigarettes and vaping products in gas stations — that shouldn’t be done,” said Rob Cunningham of the Canadian Cancer Society.

    The Canadian Vaping Association however says not so fast. It said the measures that are being introduced are short-sighted. Executive director Darryl Tempest said the problem is complex and the proposed legislation doesn’t target things like alcohol or tobacco.

    “Vaping is far more effective to get people off combustible tobacco and it’s been proven seven years in a row from the Royal College of Physicians to be 95 per cent less harmful than smoking — where is that consideration in this legislation?” said Tempest.

    He said the one thing we need to understand is that smoking, particularly combustible smoking, is the largest form of preventable death in the nation. According to his figures, there are more than four million smokers in Canada and 1.1 million have chosen a less harmful alternative.

  • Trade Group: ‘Hasty’ Flavor Ban Study Has Major Flaw

    Trade Group: ‘Hasty’ Flavor Ban Study Has Major Flaw

    Photo: kurgu128

    A recent study that found flavor ban-induced sales declines also reduced youth vaping is flawed, according to the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA).

    A recent CDC Foundation analysis examining the change in vape product sales in Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Washington after flavor bans found that statewide restrictions on nontobacco-flavored sales were associated with reductions of 25.01 percent to 31.26 percent in total unit sales compared with total sales in states without restrictions.

    However, the “hasty” conclusion that the reduction in total sales has also reduced youth vaping prevalence “does not hold up,” according to the CVA, because the authors were unable to assess the age of purchasers.

    According to the CVA, the most common way for youth to access vaping products is through social sourcing. “Even if the age of the purchasers could be verified, a reduction in youth vaping could only be determined through additional studies,” the CVA wrote in press note.

    “The problem with taking a micro view to regulation and forming policy based on individual studies is [that] the bigger picture is neglected,” said Darryl Tempest, government relations council to the CVA Board. “If we take this study at face value and assume the conclusion is accurate and less youth are vaping, on the surface it seems like this type of regulation is logical. Yet, we know from reviewing the full scope of evidence that flavor restrictions result in smoking-related illness and death.”

    Massachusetts’ ban of flavored tobacco products is not the success its proponents make it out to be, according to Ulrik Boesen of the Tax Foundation.

    A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that while the sale of flavored tobacco in Massachusetts decreased more than sales in the 27 control states in the wake of the state ban, the authors failed to consider the impact of cross-border trade.

    According to Boesen, increased sales in neighboring New Hampshire and Rhode Island almost completely made up for the decrease in Massachusetts.

  • Vape Group Protest ‘Hypocrisy’ of Rules for Adult Products

    Vape Group Protest ‘Hypocrisy’ of Rules for Adult Products

    Credit: Annaadel

    The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) says it is astounded by “the hypocrisy and inequity” in the regulation of adult products.

    Alcohol, a substance known to cause significant harm to health, faces no restrictions on the use of flavorings or warning label requirements in Canada, according to the association. On the other hand, nicotine vape products, a harm reduction product used primarily by smokers seeking to quit, have undergone rigorous regulation culminating in a proposal to restrict all pleasant “sensory attributes.”

    Darryl Tempest

    “Flavors are a common denominator across adult products,” the CVA wrote in a statement. “As the cannabis and vaping industries battle to keep flavors for adults, the alcohol sector operates freely and advertises broadly. The staggering double standard that exists for alcoholic beverages is absurd when compared side by side. “

    “Vaping, unlike recreational cannabis or alcohol, provides a public health benefit,” said Darryl Tempest, executive director of the CVA. “The goal of health policy should be to capitalize on public health gains. Canada has now seen through Nova Scotia’s flavor ban, that reducing the appeal of vaping products to smokers results in increased smoking and the destruction of small businesses. The proposed regulations are not fit for purpose. Canadians don’t want regulation that causes increased smoking rates and fewer jobs.”