Sending the right signals
Changes to age restrictions on tobacco and electronic smoking devices (better known as vaping) will be coming to P.E.I. on March 1 of this year.
This week, the provincial government announced the age to legally buy tobacco and vaping products will rise from 19 to 21, making Prince Edward Island the strictest jurisdiction in Canada when it comes to purchasing vaping products.
A letter was sent this week from P.E.I.'s deputy health minister, Mark Spidel, informing retailers of the changes. That same letter also noted a "transition period" for anyone turning 19 before March 1. That stipulation means those who are 19 before that date will be exempt from the rule change.
In another move, the province will also limit where vape products can be bought and sold, by moving them out of locations like convenience stores and into "tobacconists' shops" only. Government action on controversial vaping products doesn't stop there. Restrictions on flavoured products are also on the way, but that change will not happen immediately as, according to provincial officials, their hands are tied by multinational trade agreements. That means the ban will not be possible until sometime later this year at the earliest.
A draft of the amendments to the Tobacco and Electronic Smoking Devices Sales and Access Act was posted to the province's website on Tuesday.
These welcome and long overdue changes coincide with a recent private member's bill brought forward by provincial PC MLA Cory Deagle. That bill passed with unanimous support during the fall sitting of the provincial legislature. The Island is not alone in its efforts as Nova Scotia and Ontario are also moving to limit access to vaping products.
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported earlier this week that: "Health Canada recently singled out specialty vape shops as having "unacceptable" levels of non-compliance for federal vaping laws. In a December letter to retailers, the department said more than 80 per cent of specialty vape shops that inspectors visited last year were selling and promoting products in violation of federal law."
Some argue that the restrictions now being placed on vaping products are heavy-handed. They say vaping is a proven method to help people kick their cigarette habits. Maybe. Maybe not. The bigger issue here is the fact that kids and teens are being drawn into vaping, just like cigarette smoking a few decades ago. That risk is too great, and we've already seen the consequences.
The government is right to take this action and should consider even stricter measures that could include fines (not criminal records) for possession for anyone under 21 found using the products.
Making the products harder to get will certainly help curb the growing problem of youth vaping, but ask any smoker and it's unlikely they'll say they started smoking at 19 or older. Without consequences, rules will continue to be broken. Limiting access is just the first step.