The Canadian Vaping Association's response to the Nova Scotia Government's review of its vaping legislation

TORONTO, Oct. 3, 2019 /CNW/ - The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) welcomes the opportunity to engage with Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil following his announcement yesterday regarding his government's potential regulatory changes to the sale and promotion of vaping products in the province. However, the organization cautions against banning flavours outright, as they have been proven critical to the success of vaping as a harm reduction approach for long-time smokers.

"We will gladly engage with all elected members in the province of Nova Scotia, in particular the Minister of Health, because we agree that regulation is necessary to ensure vaping products are kept away from youth," said Darryl Tempest, Executive Director of the Canadian Vaping Association. "The truth is, tens of thousands of flavours have been introduced to the marketplace with little to no impact on youth uptake rates since the inception of the industry over two decades ago. It is the aggressive promotion of these products in non age-restricted environments, as well as the black market, that has had a far greater impact when it comes to youth uptake."

Premier McNeil rightly stated that vaping products are regulated by Health Canada, and he believes the federal agency needs to tighten regulation around permissible nicotine content, among others.

"We are strongly in favour of tighter regulations with the sale and promotion of nicotine e-liquid vape products, including removing them from all convenience stores, gas stations or any retail location that is not age-restricted. We have to prevent the flagrant promotion of these products to our province's youth by big tobacco brands, including Juul and Vype. Vape products have been proven the Royal College of Physicians to be at least 95 per cent safer than combustible tobacco, and they have been a lifeline for many lifelong smokers, resolved to quit or cut back their tobacco consumption. We are committed to working alongside the government to support flavours as an avenue for adult smokers to transition to vaping, a less harmful alternative to smoking combustible tobacco," added Tempest.

About the Canadian Vaping Association

The Canadian Vaping Association (canadianvapingassociation.org) is a registered national, not-for-profit organization, established as the voice for the burgeoning Canadian vaping industry. Founded in 2014, the CVA represents over 200 manufacturing, retail and online vaping businesses in Canada and has no tobacco companies, nor their affiliates, as part of their membership. The association is the primary liaison with the federal and provincial governments on all legislative and regulatory issues related to the industry. The primary goal of the CVA is to ensure that government regulation is reasonable and practical, through the strategy of professional proactive communication and education supplied bilingually to health officers, media, and elected officials.

SOURCE The Canadian Vaping Association

Darryl Tempest, Executive Director, 647-274-1867, [email protected]