Health Canada has proposed new rules purportedly aimed at reducing the youth appeal of vaping products, however, not everyone is convinced that the vaping regulations the federal government department has proposed will bode well for society as a whole.
Arthur Cavallin, a former cigarette smoker who co-owns a small chain of vape shops with locations across Northeastern Ontario, pointed to an increase in smoking rates in Nova Scotia after the province banned flavored vaping products.
Cavallin told Sudbury.com that he assumes that there will be “a large increase in smoking rates and a large decrease in people trying to get a healthier alternative to smoking” if the federal rules banning flavored vaping products are approved.
The proposed ban on flavored vaping products would eliminate flavors outside of mint, menthol and tobacco from the Canadian market. The proposal comes on the heels of another effort Health Canada claims is aimed at reducing the youth appeal of vaping products: the lowering of the maximum nicotine concentration of vaping products.
Beginning July 8, 2021, Canadian vape manufacturers must cease the production of nicotine vaping products that contain more than 20mg/ml of nicotine. Shortly after, on July 8, 2021, retailers across the country will be forced to pull any products exceeding this new limit from store shelves as they will no longer be allowed to sell them to customers.
Pushing people back to smoking is just one of Cavallin’s concerns with Health Canada’s proposed rules. Yet another concern he has is that Health Canada’s moves to limit vaping product nicotine concentrations and flavors will result in increased black market activity, which he believes will make it easier for children to vape.
In San Francisco, California, a 2018 ban on flavored tobacco products that included vape liquids containing nicotine may have completely backfired, as evidence points to the ban actually having driven more teens to use conventional cigarettes.
A Yale study found that the odds of teenagers in the city smoking traditional cigarettes doubled after the city enacted its flavor ban.
While it’s no certainly no secret, it’s not just the United States and Canada that have moved towards further regulating the vape industry. In Australia, the federal government has taken steps towards implementing a prescription model that will require the country’s vapers to obtain a prescription from a licensed physician to buy and use vaping products that contain nicotine, which some members of the government have outright rejected.
While Canada’s move to lower the maximum nicotine limit of vaping products across the country is surely a big step towards further regulating vaping products in Canada, the country is not the first to do so. In the European Union, the limit is and has been for some time now 20mg/ml.
What do you think of Canada’s new limit on nicotine vape products and proposed ban on flavored e-liquids?
The Best Portable Vaporizer Under $150...
You Haven't Lived Until You've Tried This Vape...
This Automatic Herb Grinder Can Roll You Joints...