This site is intended for adults 19 years and older. If you are not legally able to purchase tobacco products in your province, please do not enter this site.

Please select your birthdate to confirm you are at least 19 years of age.

Exit

Tag: laws

  • Tighter rules possible for proposed e-cigarette laws in Manitoba

    Tighter rules possible for proposed e-cigarette laws in Manitoba

    OUR Two cents:

    Our 2 cents

    This article shows the ignorance of the government.  With no scientific evidence supporting any connection between flavours and increased use, increased youth use, or any negatively correlated data, the government has chosen to attempt to ban any ‘flavours’ for e-cigarettes.  Using the internal data from our customers we have collected over the last 6 years, it’s easy to understand that adults enjoy sweet, candy, and deliciously flavoured items.  The idea of cotton candy, peppermint or strawberry-flavoured e-liquid simply means that adults enjoy these flavours.

    You need to look no further than the LCBO’s website (for the record, during our research, when logging in there was no notice that you needed to be of legal age to view the content inside, which includes photos and descriptions all of the beer, spirits, and coolers they sell) and check out these delicious “adult flavoured” items:  Kiwi Mango coolers, sinful cherry liquor, and Salted caramel cream wine, just to name a few.  Check out these descriptions:  “aromas of cooked cherry, dried berries, vanilla, chocolate and cinnamon” and “aromas similar to vanilla Girl Guide cookies; dense, sweet, creamy vanilla flavours with a hint of caramel.”  “chocolate brownie aroma” just to name a few.  Adults enjoy creamy, sweet, candy and dessert flavours just as much as children.
    The prohibition of sales to minors is a great step and necessary.  This regulation is actually already taking place in the vast majority of vape shops, even without the government’s regulations.  Vape shop owners want to do the right thing, and they want to be regulated; as long as the regulation allows for its customers to enjoy the freedom of choice when vaping, and allows their business to operate in a way to allow this to happen.  Hopefully, the amendments in these regulations will allow for this to take place.  If not, regulations like this will cripple and kill the majority of vape shops in Manitoba, and make it much more difficult for smokers looking for a safer alternative to cigarettes to find their way to vaping.

    -Howie[divider][/divider]

    Earlier this year, the Manitoba Legislature introduced a proposed e-cigarette laws in Manitoba change to Bill 30 that would see restrictions in place for e-cigarettes and vapour products.

    The legislation would prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, restrict product advertising and promotion and ban their use in most indoor places.

    “It’s a really good step in the right direction,” said Tracy Fehr, Tobacco Reduction Coordinator at the Manitoba Lung Association. “What we would like to see at some point for it to go a bit further.”

    At a special committee meeting with the province on Wednesday, the Manitoba Lung Association called for four changes to the bill that would make tighter restrictions:

    • Prohibit the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes
    • Regulate e-cigarettes containing nicotine in the way nicotine replacement products are managed
    • Ban the use of e-cigarettes in all indoor public spaces including vape shops and casinos
    • Conduct studies into the short and long-term effects of e-cigarettes

    The proposed amendments come with a mixed reaction from Winnipeg business owners.vaping in Manitoba

    “I think it’s important that people can have a place where they can vape indoors,” said Daniel Lofchick, co-owner of Cold Turkey vape shop. At his store, e-cigarette users can enter and take a puff, free of judgment.

    Lofichuk said he doesn’t think restrictions are unreasonable in other public spaces, but that it doesn’t make sense to apply the ban to a vape shop.

    Right now, restaurants and bars make their own guidelines when it comes to indoor e-cigarette use.

    Employees at the Black Rabbit Bistro Lounge in Osborne Village have a soft policy to treat e-cig use how cigarette use would be treated.

    However, staff said they would welcome a law that cleared up any confusion for guests.

    “It would just make it a little more hard-lined for everyone to have the same regulations for all the restaurants,” said the restaurant’s daytime supervisor, Jordan Cayer.

    The Manitoba Hotels Association also supports a ban on indoor vaping. President Jim Baker spoke at the meeting and said allowing e-cigs at bars would be a step back in time.

    “Eleven years ago, that’s when smoking bans came about, and it was quite a change for our members and restaurants. (Since then) adaption has happened and the operators don’t want to go back,” said Baker.

    Another meeting on e-cigarette legislation is planned for Monday at the legislature. The province hopes to finalize changes to the bill this year.

    Cheryl Holmes, CTV Winnipeg

  • Is it safe and legal to smoke an e-cigarette with kids in the car?

    Is it safe and legal to smoke an e-cigarette with kids in the car?

    Great article looking at the legality of vaping in your car with children.

    At least so far, there’s no solid evidence that the mist from electronic cigarettes is dangerous to bystanders – including kids along with you in the car, says researcher Igor Burstyn. “If you have a kid in your car and they’re feeling sick, what do you do first? You stop the car, you get out of the car and maybe you stop vaping and see whether the kid feels better,” says Burstyn, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia. “But to compare it to smoking is utterly ridiculous – it’s like saying that if you have a nerf gun, then you might as well use real bullets because a gun is a gun.” The Oxford English Dictionary added the word vaping last year – along with sexting, crowdfunding and photobombing. Because electronic cigarettes don’t contain tobacco and don’t emit smoke, when you use them, you vape. An atomizer heats the juice in the flavour cartridge – water, chemical flavours like Macaron De Paris, Waikiki Watermelon and Oatmeal cookie, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin – and turns it into vapour. Unlike cigarettes which produce smoke the whole time they’re lit, e-cigarettes only produce vapour when inhaled. So far, Health Canada has not regulated e-cigarettes. “Health Canada is still hiding under their desks on this one,” says University of Ottawa law professor David Sweanor. “They have no regulations in place – no system of disclosures or approvals.” Under the Food and Drug Act, any product containing nicotine has to be approved by Health Canada before it can be imported, advertised or sold. Because Health Canada hasn’t approved any e-juice containing nicotine, it’s not allowed to be sold here. “Nicotine is still available – you can get it over the Internet,” says Scott McDonald, CEO of the B.C. Lung Association. In May, Quebec will be the final province to make it illegal to smoke with kids in cars, says Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. Right now, it’s illegal to smoke in cars with kids under 16 in B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. In Alberta and the Yukon, that age is 18. In Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island it’s 19. While the dangers of second-hand smoke are well known, one in 10 Canadian kids is still exposed to second-hand smoke in cars on a daily basis, Callard says. But what about vaping with kids in cars? Vaping in cars with anyone under the age of 19 is banned in Nova Scotia. In the last year, Manitoba and Ontario have proposed making it illegal to vape with kids in vehicles. So far, those plans have been delayed. “In the coming months, we will move to restrict where e-cigarettes can be used,” says Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term care in an e-mail statement. “As always, we welcome continued input from all stakeholders as we work together to help protect Ontario’s youth from the dangers of tobacco and the potential harms of e-cigarettes.” Studies have found e-cigarette vapour increases indoor air pollution. Others have found carcinogens including formaldehyde. Another recent Harvard study tested 51 brands of e-juice and found diacetyl in 47 of them. That chemical had been found in artificial butter flavouring and caused an irreversible lung disease – “popcorn lung” – in workers. Until there’s more conclusive research on the safety of second-hand vaping, it’s a good idea not to vape in a vehicle if you have kids with you, says the BC Lung Association. “With vaping, it’s not really known what the contents are – potentially, people are mixing in it up in their garage or in a basement somewhere in China,” says the Lung Association’s McDonald. “There’s very little disclosure of the vaping liquid and when it is disclosed, it’s usually just a long list of chemically-sounding names.” The Lung Association believes people should inhale nothing except “fresh, clean air,” McDonald says. Burstyn, who wrote a 2014 paper looking at whether contaminants in e-cigarette vapour exceeded workplace exposure standards, says “we have a pretty good idea what’s in e-cigarettes.” “There are patents and there have been thousands of analyses,” he says. “These are all known chemicals – some like formaldehyde have been studied for years.” The levels in e-cig vapour all meet workplace safety limits, Burstyn says. “If you’re working in a factory and there are these levels in the air, you would not be worried,” Burstyn says. “You and I are inhaling formaldehyde right now as we speak – it does not mean these levels are harmful.” There’s no evidence that vaping is “100 per cent safe” and there is evidence that the vapour can cause problems for people with pre-existing health conditions, Burstyn says. But, it’s replacing smoking, which is a known killer, he says. “It’s nothing like smoking tobacco – it gives that nicotine hit and flavour without the harm and risk of cigarettes,” he says. “I don’t smoke, I don’t vape – I just look at the numbers and see that it reduces smoking and has no discernible harm to bystanders.” And, in most Canadian cities, you’re breathing in a lot more than clean, fresh air anyway. “I don’t think e-cigs are adding very much to the risk caused by air pollution,” he says.
  • Ontario set to ban vaping in places where smoking is prohibited.

    Ontario set to ban vaping in places where smoking is prohibited.

    Law would also apply to medical marijuana users lighting up anywhere cigarettes are banned

    Ontario is set to ban e-cigarette and medical marijuana users from smoking or vaporizing anywhere regular cigarettes are prohibited.

    “We have made a determination that smoking whatever it is — whether it’s vaping, whether it’s medical marijuana, whether it’s cigarettes — that there should be restrictions on that,” Premier Kathleen Wynne said Thursday.

    “And so the rules will apply to marijuana, to medical marijuana, to vaping as they do to cigarettes.”

    The new rules come months after the Liberal government backtracked on electronic cigarette regulations just one day after an exemption for medical marijuana users came to light.

    ‘The rules will apply to marijuana, to medical marijuana to vaping as they do to cigarettes.’ – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

    The e-cigarette rules were supposed to come into effect Jan. 1 to ban their use in enclosed public places, workplaces, and certain outdoor areas.

    But after the public learned of the medical marijuana exemption and that it meant users could vaporize in restaurants, at work or on playgrounds, the government put the rules on hold and went back to the drawing board.

    Associate Health Minister Dipika Damerla is set to announce the government’s second attempt at the regulations today. She said last fall that it was too early to tell whether or not the original exemption was a failure.

    The government says these new regulations will be posted for consultation and they will continue to get feedback from experts.

    The Canadian Press Posted: Mar 10, 2016 9:43 AM ET

     

  • Canada to Regulate E-Cigarettes; Recommendations from the Standing Committee on Health

    Canada to Regulate E-Cigarettes; Recommendations from the Standing Committee on Health

    This March the Standing Committee of Health produced a report outlining recommendations for the regulation of E-cigarettes based off of evidence collected from eight meetings with a total of thirty-three witnesses, including government officials, health officials, manufacturers, and users of the devices.  Overall  it looks hopeful, and potentially  good news for vapers in Canada.  You can read the full report here.

    The Good:

    • Recommendation 1: That the Government of Canada financially supports research on the health effects of E-cigs (potential risks and benefits), and their impact on the uptake of nicotine products by youth and on other tobacco control efforts (renormalization and potential gateway effects).  We feel that this is good because currently the claims against e-cigarettes are not supported by evidence, and conducting research is more likely to dispel disparaging attitudes than create new ones.
    • Recommendation 2: That the Government of Canada works with all affected stakeholders to establish a new legislative framework for regulating electronic cigarettes.  This is awesome because it means that they will not be regulated as tobacco, or medical products (won’t be required to have a prescription to obtain a vape etc).
    • Recommendation 7: Establish standards relating to the safety of all components of electronic cigarettes, and also require manufacturers and importers of electronic cigarettes to disclose information relating to ingredients.   We feel  that it’s important for consumers to have full disclosure.
    • Recommendation 8:  Require electronic cigarette components be sold in child resistant packaging, and that all packaging clearly and accurately indicate the concentration of nicotine and contain appropriate safety warnings about the product.  This recommendation makes sense, and would certainly improve the safety of vaping.
    • Recommendation 9: Prohibit electronic cigarette manufacturers from making unproven health claims.    We couldn’t agree with this more!
    • Recommendation 10: Prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes or other electronic nicotine delivery systems to person under the age of 18.  Most retailers are already enforcing this rule, ourselves included.

    The Bad:

    • Recommendation 5: Electronic Cigarettes be required to be visually distinct from other tobacco products (ie not look like a cigarette, like our e-dart).   This recommendation is based off of the fear that vaping may re-normalize tobacco use, and as outlined in recommendation 1 there currently is not enough evidence to support the claim. 
    • Recommendation 6: Establish maximum levels of nicotine contained in electronic cigarette liquid or vapour.   This could pose unnecessary limitations on consumers , as the amount of nicotine considered to be safe in e-liquid is well over the amount currently found in even the highest concentrations available.

    The Ugly:

    • Recommendation 11: Prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems in federally regulated public spaces.  This would prohibit vaping in bars, restaurants, and other places that may want to cater to vapers. 
    • Recommendation 12: Restrictions for advertising and promotional activities for these products.  This recommendation greatly imposes on businesses and consumers ability to connect with appropriate harm reduction devices. 
    • Recommendation 14: Prohibit the use of flavourings in electronic cigarette liquids that are specifically designed to appeal to youth, such as candy flavourings.  This recommendation comes from the baseless idea that youth, whom are mostly mimicking adult behaviors when they engage in smoking may be drawn to vaping because of candy flavours.  A large amount of vapers prefer sweet and fruity flavours, and this would pose unnecessary restrictions on them.
      Overall the recommendations to regulate e-cigarettes are very reasonable, other than the few that lack supporting evidence to warrant their creation (in their current forms).  While some of the recommendations are not favourable  we feel positive that if The Canadian Government continues to work with all stakeholders and pays close attention to research coming forward in support of vaping we will have a world class regulatory system.
  • Toronto board of health to review a ban on electronic cigarettes

    Toronto board of health to review a ban on electronic cigarettes

    Toronto Board of Health meeting to discuss banning electronic cigarettes

    The Toronto Board of Health is convening a meeting to deliberate on a potential municipal ban on electronic cigarettes, equating them with traditional cigarettes. This implies that vaping or the use of electronic cigarettes could be prohibited in public parks, bars, restaurants, and any other places where traditional tobacco cigarettes are currently banned across the greater Toronto area.

    Proposed Restrictions on E-cigarettes

    The Board is also considering a proposal to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarette products and prohibit e-cigarette displays in stores.

    Moreover, the Board is contemplating banning the use of electronic cigarettes in workplaces, Toronto School boards, universities, colleges, and hospitals, urging these institutions to prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes both indoors and outdoors on their premises. They plan to reach out to the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association, and the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, suggesting they implement similar practices. The Parks and Environment Committee will also be approached with this suggestion.

    Justifications for the Proposed Actions

    The Board’s potential actions are justified on two grounds.

    Firstly, they argue that there is insufficient research on the risk of second-hand vapor, citing potential health risks associated with it.

    Secondly, they express concern that e-cigarettes could be perceived as a gateway to tobacco cigarettes, leading to a ‘normalization of smoking’ after years of efforts to render tobacco cigarettes obsolete.

    Toronto Board of Health meeting to discuss banning electronic cigarettes

    Counterarguments and Criticisms

    Critics argue that the Board is overlooking the significant positive outcomes already achieved by ex-tobacco smokers who have successfully transitioned to electronic cigarettes. They point out that mint-flavored nicotine gum has never been suggested as a potential gateway to tobacco cigarettes, and assert that electronic cigarettes are fundamentally different from tobacco cigarettes. This is evidenced by the fact that many ex-smokers who switch to electronic cigarettes find that they no longer enjoy the taste and feel of tobacco cigarettes.

    Critics also question the Board’s contradictory stance of implying that scientific evidence suggests e-cigarettes could be a gateway to tobacco cigarettes, while simultaneously citing a lack of scientific evidence regarding second-hand vapor as a reason to ban e-cigarettes.

    A Call for Regulation Over Prohibition

    Critics suggest that a more productive approach would be for the government to regulate the manufacturing of these products, rather than imposing a ban based on insufficient scientific evidence. They advocate for requirements such as labels, child-proof lids, warnings, and information to be mandated for all vendors of e-cigarettes, arguing that this would be a more effective governmental ruling compared to pulling them off shelves and banning them publicly.

  • US to ban e-cigarette sales to minors — is Canada Next?

    US to ban e-cigarette sales to minors — is Canada Next?

    After many years of neglect, the U.S. food and drug administration has finally proposed a rule that would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18. In our humble opinion, this is something that should have been addressed years ago. This long-awaited proposal would be the first federal regulation of electronic cigarettes in the US.

    This ruling will be a step towards broader restrictions in the US, after many years of a ‘wild west’ attitude, with no regulations at all. Other areas that will be looked at is the advertising of e-cigarettes and the flavoring options of e-cigarettes. Critics of the advertising of e-cigarettes state that it risks introducing young people to electronic cigarettes in the first place.  Others believe that having appropriate warnings for electronic cigarettes — i.e. only for use by adults over the age of 18 on advertisements would be a much better option.  Some have argued that the flavouring options; Cotton Candy, and fruit flavours for example, appeal to younger people and should therefore be banned.  FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the current proposal “lays the foundation for many more actions and activities.

    How will this affect Canadians?  Likely not too much in the foreseeable future. Health Canada is typically very slow and methodical to react to anything, and often waits to see how other countries decisions and actions effect their system before taking any action.  Health Canada’s response to the US restriction for sale to minors simply said this:  “(We are) monitoring the actions of regulators in other jurisdictions, and considering all options for appropriate oversight of these products“.  I guess only time will tell, however if the past is any indication of the future, any regulations that take place in the US will likely be copied very slowly in Canada.

  • Electronic Cigarette Advertisements – Will They Be Banned?

    Electronic Cigarette Advertisements – Will They Be Banned?

    A recent US rule implemented by the FDA is attempting to regulate the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors.  While this is certainly a good thing, and a positive step in the US electronic cigarette market, it is leaving many people wondering if this is just the first step in an electronic cigarette laundry list of to be regulated by the FDA.  FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the current proposal “lays the foundation for many more actions and activities.”  What this means is that this rule is essentially the groundwork for future policies and regulations laid out by the FDA in the future in restrictions towards electronic cigarettes.   My personal belief is that the FDA is choosing a ban on minors as their ‘entry rule’ so that everyone will be behind them, and then continue to add and implement other ‘grey area’ rulings regarding electronic cigarettes.  The two two that everyone is talking about is advertising of electronic cigarettes, and the sale of fruity or candy e-liquids to customers.  We are going to discuss advertising of electronic cigarettes in this story. Some are suggesting some US e-cigarette companies are promoting electronic cigarettes to a younger crowd. A recent advertisement from blu e-cigarettes in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit magazine in the states has suggested that some e-cigarette companies are focusing on the younger crowd when advertising their products.  Personally, this is more of a ‘sex sells’ type advertisement then anything else, however an argument could be made that if electronic cigarettes become more of an accepted social practice they would be tried and used a lot more then traditional tobacco cigarettes.  We at CanadaVapes.com have always promoted electronic cigarettes as an alternate to people currently smoking tobacco cigarettes, and never as a device for current non-smokers.
  • Council to consider merits of banning e-cigarettes indoors

    Council to consider merits of banning e-cigarettes indoors

    As sales of e-cigarettes continue to explode, one councillor wants the city to examine the possible health risks of the popular devices.

    Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart will bring a notice of motion to the council on Monday seeking a working group to look at the impacts of electronic cigarettes and whether they should be snuffed out in many of the same venues where tobacco smoke is prohibited.

    Some jurisdictions in the United States, including New York City, have new legislation in place that bans the products in restaurants, bars and clubs (banning e-cigarettes indoors).

    In the absence of any provincial direction on electronic smoking devices, Colley-Urquhart believes it’s important for action on the municipal level.

    “To me, it’s a public health policy issue that we need to deal with,” she said. “People are promoting these as a smoking cessation substitute but a lot is unknown about the chemicals that are in them.”

    With their glowing tips and exhaled mist, e-cigarettes are designed to simulate smoking. Depending on what kind of fluid cartridge — “juice” in e-cigarette jargon — they are loaded with, some deliver a hit of nicotine, while others use non-nicotine fluid in a variety of flavours.

    Addiction treatment specialists, public health officials and tobacco control advocates are divided over whether e-cigarettes are useful smoking cessation aids.

    In Alberta, government authorities say there is insufficient research on the health effects of battery-powered devices.

    “We don’t have a policy on it yet,” Health Minister Fred Horne recently acknowledged.

    “There just isn’t a lot of evidence, but we know this is something that is going to become more significant as more people use the products.”

    Alberta Health Services has urged caution around electronic smoking devices, particularly those containing nicotine. In a brief report published in March 2012, the health authority warns that e-smokers can’t be sure what they are ingesting due to a “void of regulatory requirements for product design and content.”

    The report cites studies done on U.S. products that found detectable levels of toxic chemicals in the vaporized liquids and variations in levels of nicotine.

    But the debate continues. A different study south of the border suggests the second-hand effects of the vapour, at least, do not present the same health hazards as tobacco cigarettes.

    In Calgary, stores that specialize in e-cigarettes and related products are popping up around the city.

    At Vape World on trendy 17th Ave S.W., owner Alexander Sarvucci sees brisk business from people interested in trying the products, which contain flavoured liquids and vegetable glycerine.

    Many are opting for them as an alternative to traditional cigarettes. “I call it a harm reduction tool. It’s something that prevents you from putting 4,000 chemicals into your body,” he said.

    “I find most people are pretty accepting of them.”

    Sarvucci is mystified as to why Colley-Urquhart is pushing for prohibitions on e-cigarette use.

    “Obviously people shouldn’t be doing them in movie theatres where it is disrupting to others. I wouldn’t have an e-cigarette around children. But bylaws? It isn’t right,” he said.

    He’d like to see cities like Calgary abstain from tougher rules until Health Canada conducts a 10-year-study.

    But Colley-Urquhart believes the matter carries urgency. “There are things that people probably feel are a bigger priority,” she said.

    “(But) much like the prostitution issue that I brought forward a couple of weeks ago, in the absence of the federal government or the province taking a lead on this, we need to get to work and take the lead ourselves at a community level.”

    If approved, a working group would consult with AHS, Alberta Health and Wellness as well as other stakeholders and provide recommendations to the standing policy committee on community and protective services in September.

    With files from The Canadian Press and the Edmonton Journal.

    tgignac@calgaryherald.com

    Twitter: TamaraGignac

    © Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
    By Tamara Gignac, Calgary Herald March 31, 2014