The federal government plans to ban most vape flavours across Canada. This move came more than three years after Ottawa promised to bring in these rules."We have made a commitment from the start to restrict flavours. We haven't wavered from that," said Ya'ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. "We will have this in place soon. I don't anticipate this is going to take much longer."Saks did not give a specific timeline for the ban.Her promise follows calls from health groups for quick action..Nearly 3 million people in the UK quit smoking by vaping in the last five years.Earlier this month, a group of anti-tobacco organizations held a press conference in Ottawa. They demanded Saks either introduce the ban quickly or step down. The groups accused her of giving in to pressure from the vaping industry by not finalizing the rules this spring as planned.In June 2021, Health Canada said it would limit vaping flavours to mint, menthol, and tobacco. At the time, the department said the reason was because of a "rapid increase in youth vaping in Canada.""The availability of a variety of desirable flavours is believed to have contributed to the rise in youth vaping," said Health Canada..Fewer U.S. teens vaping, few use nicotine pouches.Research showed young people were more likely to start vaping with fruity and sweet flavours.Three years later, Canada now has one of the highest teen vaping rates in the world. Statistics Canada reports nearly half of all young adults have tried vaping. The latest Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey showed that 86% of new vape users were never cigarette smokers."We know that young people are being exposed to vaping first now," said Saks.While Ottawa has spent the last three years consulting on regulations, six provinces and territories have introduced flavour bans. These include New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Quebec.Saks said the national rules were delayed because Health Canada wanted to learn from Quebec, who banned flavours a year ago."We've seen in jurisdictions like Quebec, where banning of flavours has led to an illicit market that is accessible," said Saks. "So as we move forward with this, we want to make sure that we get it right.".Controversial vape detectors coming to Canadian high schools.Saks added that the federal government wanted to ensure the rules were enforceable and would not accidentally encourage underground flavoured vape sales."Just to be clear, there is no slow-walking of this," said Saks. "It's a matter of what are the lessons that we can learn right now?"Flory Doucas, Co-Director of Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control, said the growing illegal market in Quebec is exactly why Canada needs a national flavour ban now.Currently, customers in Quebec can easily order flavoured vaping products approved by Health Canada from a retailer in a province without a ban."The argument of delaying the regulation because there are issues in provinces is pretty rich, because the federal framework has made it very easy for industry to skirt these provincial regulations," said Doucas.Doucas said the nicotine and vaping industry moved quickly to find ways around new rules. She argued this should not be a reason for the federal government to wait so long."We've been dealing with an industry that has been successful in delaying and delaying these regulations," said Doucas.The vaping industry held its press conference in Ottawa last week. They called on Saks to not ban flavours.Sam Tam, President of the Canadian Vaping Association, said adult smokers rely on vaping as a less harmful option to cigarettes. He argued that appealing flavours make it easier for them to switch."A blanket flavour ban will do absolutely nothing to protect Canadians, especially our youth," said Tam."Over the past 10 years, since vaping entered the market, we've seen a disturbing pattern of fearmongering, misinformation, and deliberate efforts to push people back toward smoking," said Maria Papaioannoy, Spokesperson for Rights4Vapers."The fact is that we have a wide variety of reduced-harm nicotine products out there. They are proven to be less harmful than cigarettes, why are we denying Canadians who smoke the opportunity to save their own lives?"Until now, Saks said little about Ottawa's plans to bring in a flavour ban..Nicotine pouches a key tool in the global fight against smoking.Health Minister Mark Holland has spoken out strongly against nicotine pouches and banned the sale of pouches with fruity flavours on August 28.At the time of Holland's ban, only Zonnic pouches were available in Canada.Saks said vaping has been around much longer, making it harder to regulate."The [nicotine pouch] market is a newer marketplace that Minister Holland was able to nip at before it had proliferated," said Saks. "Vaping products have been around for quite a long time. And we've also seen shifts and changes in the marketplace. I am seized with this. We do want to get this out as quickly as possible."
