Tag: Ontario

  • Ontario to Double Taxes on Vapes Sold in Province

    Ontario to Double Taxes on Vapes Sold in Province

    Ontario, in partnership with Canada’s national government, will double the tax on all vaping products sold in the province.

    The federal/provincial tax partnership scheme that was announced in 2022 allows provinces to double the current federal vape tax and keep half the proceeds, according to Vaping360.

    The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) urged the federal government to reconsider its proposal to impose an additional provincial levy, as this would effectively double the already substantial tax burden. “The CVA suggests a more equitable approach where the federal government shares the revenue generated by the current levy with the provinces,” the industry group wrote in a statement.

    “With the introduction of the excise tax, depending on product type, vape products are now almost as expensive as cigarettes despite the significant reduction in risk,” the statement says.

    The CVA cautioned that the increased tax may lead to more illicit trade. “Legal businesses will find it nearly impossible to compete with the unregulated market that remains largely unchecked. The consequence of such punitive taxation will be widespread business closures, significant job losses and an increase in criminal activity.”

    “The CVA encourages the province to leverage its negotiating influence with the federal government to establish a fair revenue-sharing framework for the existing tax revenue. Preserving the regulated market, rather than destroying it, will lead to higher tax revenues. The additional revenue generated can be used by the province to increase enforcement resources and support educational programs for youth,” said Darryl Tempest, government relations counsel to the CVA.                     

  • 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.