On July 1st, Health Canada’s new labelling requirements for vaping products came into force. These requirements are pursuant to the Vaping Product Labelling and Packaging Regulations and are intended to help consumers, particularly youth and non-users of tobacco, to make informed decisions about vaping use, and to protect young children from poisoning as a result of ingesting nicotine.
As of last week, it is required that:
- the concentration of nicotine and a health warning about the addictive nature of the substance be displayed on all vaping products containing nicotine, to prevent consumers, particularly youth and non-users of tobacco products, from being misled about the risks of vaping; and
- a list of ingredients be displayed on all vaping substances so that Canadian adults can make informed decisions when purchasing and using vaping products.
As of January 1, 2021, it will be required that:
- the use of child-resistant containers for certain vaping products containing nicotine, to promote safe use and storage, which will in turn protect young children from ingesting toxic concentrations of nicotine contained in vaping substances
Today, Min. Hajdu announced another set of regulations to be published in Canada Gazette, Part II, to address youth vaping. The Vaping Product Promotion Regulations are intended to prevent vaping products from being advertised in ways that the ads can be seen or heard by young people. These new measures recognize the influential role advertising plays in tempting youth to take up vaping without understanding the health risks.
In light of the troubling trends of youth vaping, these new regulations will:
- further restrict the promotion of vaping products, to protect youth from being exposed to advertisements that can induce them to try vaping; and
- require that any permitted ads convey a health warning about vaping product harms.
To achieve this goal, once in force, these regulations will:
- prohibit vaping products from being advertised in public spaces if the ads can be seen or heard by youth, whether in brick and mortar stores or online, on media channels such as radio and television;
- prohibit retailers from displaying vaping products at point of sale in a manner that they may be seen by youth, including online; and
- require that permitted ads (e.g., displayed where youth are not permitted, such as retail locations that prevent youth access) convey a health warning statement about the hazards of vaping products. These requirements are applicable only when a province or territory does not already have such requirements in place.
The final regulations will come into force 30 days after publication, that is, on August 7, 2020, with the exception of the point-of-sale display prohibition, which will come into force 60 days after publication, that is, on September 6, 2020. After these coming into force dates, Health Canada inspectors have the authority under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act to take appropriate enforcement actions to ensure compliance with the new regulations including issuance of warnings, seizures and/or prosecutions.
Read the news release here.
