Doctors seek Federal Court Order to Force Health Canada to Comply with Tobacco Law

Mandatory Report More Than Five Months Overdue

OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 14, 2022 /CNW/ - Today a national health charity applied for a Federal Court order directing Health Canada to complete its overdue review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act and to present the results to Parliament.

"The law is crystal clear" said Dr. Atul Kapur, president of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC). "Section 60 of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act says the Minister 'must' conduct a review of the provisions and operations of the law every two years, beginning in May 2021 and 'must' present each of these reports to Parliament within 12 months."

"It is now more than five months past the deadline set by the law for the first report to be made public. . It is increasingly apparent that without direction from the Court, the government will continue to disregard its responsibility to disclose the results of its policy choices on the tobacco and nicotine market."

The obligation to conduct a legislative review of the tobacco and vaping law was imposed during the parliamentary review of Bill S-5. This bill authorized tobacco and nicotine manufacturers to sell vaping products as consumer goods and removed their obligation to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of these products as smoking cessation therapies. Concerned about the impact of this new market on young people, Senators amended the bill to require biennial legislative reviews. The first report was due on May 23, 2022, the fourth anniversary of the law coming into force.

Dr. Kapur explained that the health charity is seeking a court ruling because of the deliberateness with which the review and report were delayed.

"Two years have passed since Health Canada staff were engaged to conduct the review and since discussions with groups like ours about the process were initiated. The failure to report in time does not appear to result from administrative challenges, but one we see as the result of a political decision to ignore the law."

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada has monitored the government's struggle to address the problems caused by its policy shift towards a liberalized nicotine market. "The dramatic increase in vaping and overall nicotine use by young people, the widespread disregard for the law by vape stores, the unashamed sale of products aimed at children, the unfulfilled expectations of an improvement in smoking cessation, the increased evidence of the harms caused by these devices and the inability of the department to provide a timely regulatory response are among the issues that the Minister needs to acknowledge in her report," said Dr. Kapur. "The sooner that happens, the faster Parliament will be able to strengthen the law."

"Today we are not challenging the government's right to regulate the market in a manner with which we or other health organizations disagree. What we are challenging is the government's decision to ignore its obligations under its own laws to report on the effects of that decision. We expect that after the Federal Court makes this point clear to government, future reports will be tabled in time."

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) was incorporated in 1985 as a registered charity. It is represented in this action by Ottawa lawyer, Paul Champ.

SOURCE Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada

Contact Information: Cynthia Callard [email protected], 613 600 5794; Paul Champ, [email protected], 613-816-2441