Liberals plan to regulate vaping
Less-harmful alternative for adults
OTTAWA• The Liberal government says it plans to introduce legislation later this fall to regulate vaping.
Health Canada offered few other details Tuesday beyond saying it would both protect young people from nicotine and allow adult smokers to use vaping as a quit-smoking aid or as a potentially less harmful alternative to tobacco.
In a statement, the department said it is also renewing the federal tobacco control strategy for one year, giving the government time to develop a new long- term plan. The strategy was introduced in 2001 and last renewed four years ago.
Health Minister Jane Philpott will host a national forum early next year to discuss the future of tobacco control.
“Smoking tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in Canada, affecting the well- being of all Canadians, including youth.,” said Philpott. “The government of Canada is continuing to explore new and better ways to address smoking in Canada, and its impact on the health of Canadians.”
Health Canada also said federal work continues on a proposed ban on menthol cigarettes, as well as a commitment to introduce plain and standardized packaging requirements on all tobacco products.
Several provinces and municipalities have already brought forward measures on vaping, but federal legislation is required, said Rob Cunningham, a senior policy adviser at the Canadian Cancer Society.
“It’s clearly something that needs regulation,” he said. “We don’t want kids to be using these cigarettes.”
Regulations c overing where an individual can — and cannot — smoke varies according to province, although generally smoking is prohibited in workplaces and a wide variety of public places.
But municipalities can be even tougher. Since May 2012, Hamilton, Ont., for instance, has banned smoking on all municipal property. Break its bylaw, be found guilty and end up convicted will dig a maximum $10,000 hole in your pocket.
Revised tobacco legislation must address not only e- cigarettes, but topics such as new industry marketing tactics, water- pipe smoking and regulation of marijuana, Cunningham said.
“There’s a whole bunch of new issues that have suddenly made the tobacco issue more complicated, and that’s why the new strategy has to be done right.”
The government says an estimated 87,000 Canadians, including many young people, will become daily smokers this year — placing them and others at risk of developing a variety of diseases and illnesses.