Flavours are under attack! The flavoured vapes that help you steer clear of smoking cigarettes will soon be prohibited: Canadian adult vapers in all provinces will have their choices being reduced to flavours of tobacco, mint, menthol, or a “flavourful option” combining the three, and nothing else. Are you really ready for the aftertaste of a flavourless future? Or will you join the battle to preserve flavours together?
Revival of Nationwide Flavor Ban After Three Years
The entire conversation around the flavour ban feels like déjà vu, as they’ve suddenly resurfaced after three years of silence on the matter since the proposed regulations to restrict flavourings and additives in vaping liquids were put out in June 2021.
The vaping community vehemently opposed the proposed regulations in 2021, with over 20,000 Canadians submitting their concerns to Health Canada, stressing the crucial role of flavoured vapes in smoking cessation. However, the government turned a deaf ear and remained blind-eyed to scientific evidence, persisting in their regressive approach in the hope of achieving a smoke-free environment.We’ve seen flavour bans in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories previously, but this time around, no one could escape. Are you prepared to simply accept the rules and settle for just three flavours? Or will you resort to the black market for what you need? Or perhaps you’re indifferent to the flavour ban altogether and will simply watch as our rights to flavoured vapes are confiscated under the banner of “protecting youth”?
Tell the Government Flavour Ban is Not the Right Policy
Flavour ban is not an effective solution for the well-being of either youth or adults, but a step backward that renders effective oversights from the government and pushes substantive issues into obscurity. Ultimately, making it more challenging to regulate “bad actors” within the vaping industry, especially as new trends and innovations emerge.
In a recent survey conducted by 180 Smoke during March and April 2024, over 50% of 2,238 respondents revealed that without flavoured vapes, they’d consider returning to cigarettes, exploring alternative nicotine options, or resorting to illicit means to obtain flavoured vapes. Specifically, over 40% expressed their intention to turn to illicit markets for their vaping needs.
Existing regulations already offer sufficient safeguards for youth and non-smokers; imposing additional paternalistic measures will only exacerbate the stigma surrounding vaping when it is indeed a safer alternative to tobacco. Instead of imposing an outright ban on flavoured vape, which would potentially reintroduce 4 billion cigarettes in the very first year alone, the government should prioritize more effective and sustainable solutions, such as educational efforts and research and studies on nicotine to provide a more comprehensive understanding of this complex issue.
Act now: Save Flavours. Save Lives.
Having flavoured vapes accessible to adult vapers isn’t just a matter of civic liberty; they’re often what keeps us from returning to smoking. While safeguarding youth and non-smokers is paramount, implementing a flavour ban resembles cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.
As more anti-vaping policies emerge, safe vaping options diminish, leaving adult vapers in the hands of the illicit market or, worse, resorting to more harmful alternatives like tobacco which claims 48,000 Canadian lives annually. We must stand up and advocate for ourselves before it’s too late.
Flavours matter to vapers and our inaction now leads to the demise of all our favourite flavours. If we remain silent, we inadvertently validate the government’s flavour bans effective. Visit rights4vapers.com to draft your letters within just a few clicks now and urge the government to halt the flavour ban.
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