The Canadian Vaping Association Sees Great Opportunity Within the BC Government's 10-point Plan to Address Youth Uptake

TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2019 /CNW/ - The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) welcomes the overall vision of Minister Dix's announcement today that the province of British Columbia will launch a 10-point plan to update the province's vaping regulations, some starting as early as January 1, 2020.  The proposed regulations cover everything from the availability of vaping flavours, mass advertising and product labeling to taxation and funding education and social awareness youth marketing campaigns across the province.

One of the ten proposed measures, which is to define nicotine as a "public health hazard" under the Public Health Act, gives the government the power to limit the amount used in pods and nicotine e-liquids to 20 mg/mL. Minister Dix said that would put BC in line with the allowable limit in the UK and European Union.

"We at the CVA are encouraged by today's announcement from Minister Dix as it's a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach focused on curbing youth access and aggressive marketing practices seen in non-age restricted locations throughout Canada. We share the deep concerns of Canadians about the recent spike in youth uptake of vaping," says Darryl Tempest, Executive Director, Canadian Vaping Association. "We appreciate that Minister Dix and the BC government is planning to engage stakeholder consultations in a working group to ensure we get this right for BC residents. We have called on all levels of government to take action and BC was the first to put together a working group that aims to encourage a harm reduction alternative for adult smokers while protecting youth and non-smokers through regulated access."

The CVA also applauds the BC government's decision to keep flavours in the industry – which are of critical importance for the conversion among adult smokers – limited to adult access only specialty stores.

The proposed legislation by BC Finance Minister Carole James, to increase from the provincial sales tax from seven per cent to 20 per cent on vaping products, is an approach to curb youth access out of convenience and cost, given this demographic's price sensitivity. Yet, the burden will primarily fall on former smokers who rely on these products to escape the significantly more harmful, and indeed deadly, combustible tobacco. If passed, the new taxation legislation would come into effect Jan. 1, 2020, and would also increase the tobacco tax rate by two cents to 29.5 cents per cigarette.

"As embodied in BC's 10-point plan, it is critical that we combat this crisis of youth access through a number of measures. This includes restricting sales and promotion of these products to age-restricted environments only, putting a concerted focus on educating the public and clarifying misinformation about vaping. We must also create clear distinctions between vaping e-nicotine and illegal, black market THC products, which have been linked with the lung illness outbreaks across North America over the past several months," added Tempest. "In creating proper regulations for vaping, we are working towards smoke-free regulations that aim to eradicate combustible tobacco smoking by 2035."

About the Canadian Vaping Association

The Canadian Vaping Association (thecva.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 300 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]