At the time of writing, all heat-not-burn products — including IQOS — are legal in Canada and are governed by Bill S-5, also known as the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act. While the law does allow for the sale and distribution of heat-not-burn products, it also subjects them to a strict regulatory framework that includes plain and standardized packaging for tobacco products and new regulations around the sale and promotion of alternative tobacco products.
Looking specifically at the IQOS, these regulations have posed to be somewhat challenging to Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, the Canadian subsidiary of Philip Morris International. As far back as 2016, RBH began talking about its vision of a “smoke-free future,” through the use of alternative products such as the IQOS. However, Bill S-5 could drastically impede these efforts by preventing the brand from outlining the comparative health impacts of alternative tobacco products, in relation to traditional cigarettes.
Bill S-5 Classification of IQOS
In accordance with Bill S-5, all heat-not-burn products are still classified as tobacco products, despite the fact that they do not utilize combustion, nor is the aerosol they release equivalent to cigarette smoke. Since the passing of Bill S-5, RBH has been limited to focusing on informing consumers on the other benefits of their alternative tobacco product, all of which fall outside the realm of the health debate. While Bill S-5 has limited RBHs effort in their “smoke-free” vision, the brand has stated that it is still committed to this initiative.
According to Peter Luongo, managing director at RBH, “Our biggest concern in S-5 is around a provision that prevents talking about different types of tobacco products that could imply that the health impact of those products is different from each other.”
In many ways, the restrictions placed on heat-not-burn products is very similar to the tribulations facing e-cigarettes and vaping. While the two products are different, they share a commonality in the fact that they serve as an alternative to traditional nicotine delivery systems.
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