The region would join Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and P.E.I. in banning vaping flavours other than tobacco, while Ontario and British Columbia have opted to control where flavours can be sold, versus outright banning them.
Youth safety is incredibly important, but like any regulated product, education, and precautionary measures are key to safe sales.
Some N.W.T. facts for context:
- According to a story in the Financial Post, “the Northwest Territories have among the highest smoking rates in Canada. As of 2018, 33% of the population age 15 and older were daily or occasional smokers.”
- In addition to high youth smoking rates, the region also reports the highest youth hospitalization rates due to substance abuse, primarily attributed to alcohol.
The issue? To date, there isn’t any widely available data or evidence indicating flavour bans can actually reduce the chance that younger people take up vaping…
Quick aside:
Why don’t we see the same efforts around banning sweet and sugary alcoholic coolers? Instead, the government controls/regulates WHERE someone can purchase these products, which is ultimately much more effective, right? The same holds true for vaping products. Only allow licensed, vape-dedicated entities (we may be a little bit biased here) to sell these products, flavoured or otherwise?Â
On the flip side, according to David Tempest of the CVA in that same Financial Post article, “there is mounting evidence that flavour bans increase smoking rates.” Health Canada also says flavours play an important role in helping smokers transition to a less harmful source of nicotine.
(Editorial aside, we bolded the IS for effect!)
Which brings up a slew of discussions points. Could there be other motivations behind flavour bans? Perhaps to protect tobacco tax revenues? Thoughts? Feel free to comment below.
ANYWAY, motivations and potential regulatory bans aside, it’s still clear to us that education is key to making sure people (adults and youth alike) make the smartest decisions available to them, so we’ll continue to update and discuss the issues as they arise
To ensure that ability to choose is protected, there is a petition to the House of Commons that says the following…
Petition to the House of Commons
Whereas:
- Scientific studies have found vaping products are up to 95% less harmful than smoking cigarettes;
- More than one million adult Canadians have made the choice to switch from smoking to vaping;
- Smokers trying to switch from cigarettes are seeking to disassociate vaping with the taste of smoking and prefer a range of vaping product flavours beyond tobacco;
- Health Canada is considering regulations to ban vaping product flavours beyond tobacco, which would make the transition away from smoking much harder;
- Tens of thousands of vapers have written to Health Canada to object to this proposal, but Health Canada has ignored them;
- Public consultations have a duty to accept the submissions made by the public; and
- The House of Commons should be deciding on policies that impact the lives of millions of Canadians – not unelected officials.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to protect the rights and health of adult Canadian vapers by ensuring that a reasonable range of flavoured vaping products remains available to help them quit smoking and adopt a safer alternative and that the House urge Health Canada to consider the views of the tens of thousands of Canadian vapers who have made submissions on this issue.
NOTE: The petition closes as of February 6th/this weekend, so if you’re interested, be sure to check it out.
In other news:
Our parent company, Delota Corp. (formerly Spyder Cannabis), recently announced the launch of its new cannabis retail brand: offside cannabis, and as of Friday, February 4th, the first offside cannabis dispensary location opened in Niagara Falls in Clifton Hill
Check out the new website for more details, and sign up for offside’s newsletter for more info on dispensary openings, deals, and any other cannabis-related news
NOTE: The new store is following the province’s COVID-19 public health measures around retail re-opening, but consumers can also order online for curbside pickup
Starting February 4th, for a limited time only, all products are 15% off at our new offside cannabis Niagara location.
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