Hamilton, ON, Aug. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) is alarmed by PEI’s amendment to the Tobacco and Electronic Smoking Device Sales and Access Act. The province has informed retailers that they have amended the act to include a flavour ban which will come into effect on March 1, 2021.
The CVA cautions all governments that enacting flavour ban regulations will have no effect on youth vaping rates and will instead push adults back to smoking or to the black-market. There is extensive research that has repeatedly shown that flavour bans are ineffective for both youth prevention and harm reduction.
In response to the CVA’s request for a meeting to present the evidence supporting our position that flavour bans are ineffective and only harm adult smokers, Hon. Minister Aylward replied, “In short, government has made a decision to prohibit the sale of flavoured vaping products and is moving forward to implement that decision.”
“The Government of PEI had already created balanced and strict regulations that protect youth, by limiting the sale of all vape products to age restricted locations. The new legislation, which will include a full flavour ban, is not only unnecessary but will serve to harm many residents of the province. We have just witnessed Nova Scotia ban flavours due to misinformation surrounding vaping. Nova Scotia’s policies have created many unintended consequences, including the closure of product vape shops (the only age-restricted access point), significant growth in foreign imports with no federal age verification regulations, a growing unregulated black-market and the loss of an unprecedented harm reduction opportunity. Nova Scotia is proof that prohibition does not work. This legislation will merely eliminate legitimate regulated businesses in favour of potentially dangerous black-market products,” said Darryl Tempest, Executive Director of the CVA.
The Government of Prince Edward Island has made it clear that they are not interested in understanding the science or creating truly effective legislation. Flavoured products are the key to adult adoption for the most effective harm reduction product globally. This amendment will undoubtably harm the thousands of current and reformed smokers within the province.
We are confident that if Minister Aylward reviews the research on vaping and flavours they will understand what is truly required to meet Prince Edward Island's goal of being a national leader in protecting youth. It is not too late; PEI still has the opportunity to embrace harm reduction and save the lives of the thousands of smokers in the province.