The B.C. government has announced tighter restrictions on vaping to try and deter youth from consuming nicotine.

The Ministries of Health, Finance, and Education say this includes restricting vapour product access, flavours, nicotine content, and packaging and advertising on vaping products, especially those that target youth.

“In a short number of years, vaping has shifted from being a smoking cessation tool for adults to an addictions trap for our youth,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix. “Large vaping manufactures have used flavours and advertising to introduce a new generation of young people to very high levels of a very addictive drug, nicotine.”

He says the province is bringing forward ‘the most comprehensive plan in the country’ to try and help young people end a dangerous trend.

The new regulations will restrict the amount of nicotine in vapour pods and liquid to 20 mg/ml. It will also require plain packaging that includes health warnings, while also restricting the advertising of vaping products in areas frequented by young people like bus shelters and community parks.

Dix says flavoured vaping products will only be sold in ‘adult-only stores’ in the province.

“I encourage the federal government to bring in national regulations that address vapour product wholesalers,” Dix added. “Until they do, there will be a black market of non-compliant vapour products from other jurisdictions that can make their way into our province, our schools and the lungs of our young people.”

The restrictions on vaping are expected to come into force on April 1, 2020 following stakeholder engagement.

As part of the announcement, Finance Minster Carole James is expected to introduce legislation later this month to increase the provincial sales tax rate on vaping products from seven per cent to 20 per cent. She says that would make B.C. the first province in Canada to introduce a specific tax rate related to vaping products.

“Yes, it is a big tax jump, and one that really signifies the urgency of this problem,” James said. “We all know that youth are particularly price sensitive, and so when you make a product more expensive, and harder to access, youth will decline.”

The new tax rate would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020 and would be applied to all vaping devices, the substance or juice, and any vaping part or accessory. Nicotine gum, patches, and other similar smoking cessation products would be exempt from the provincial sales tax, but the legislation will also increase the tobacco tax rate on cigarettes and loose tobacco by two cents.

“Because while increasing taxes on vaping is going to curb the harmful behaviour, we also don’t want young people turning to tobacco products,” James said. “This is health crisis that isn’t going to be fixed by simply one measure, but I’m very proud to take part in this important first step.”

Health Canada said last week that there are three possible vaping-related illnesses in B.C., with the provincial health officer expecting that number to rise as more illnesses are reported and investigated.

The government’s regulations will be supported by a youth-led, anti-vaping social media campaign, in partnership with the BC Lung Association to work with young people to build a vaping prevention toolkit that has been piloted in some schools.

Todd Stone, the BC Liberal MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson, says he is very pleased with the announcement from the provincial government.

He calls it an ambitious plan, which he says includes just about everything that he has been calling for over the past seven months. He says he’s going to make sure that the government’s plan is implemented as quickly as possible.

“And I’m going to make sure that every single dollar that the government will be raising through increased PST on vaping products is put into funding the necessary awareness, prevention, and support programs which is so critically important for the success of this anti-vaping plan.”

Stone says while he would have liked to have seen a ban on flavoured vaping products, he’s glad to see the tough restrictions, and he hopes it will have the desired outcome.

“It has always been a non partisan issue. I know for myself, and I think for most members of the Legislature, we’ve all come to a place of agreeing that surging youth vape rates need to be a huge priority of the provincial government.”

 

Today I sent John Horgan and Adrian Dix a letter urging the government to act now on #Vaping.

Let’s work together to prevent an entire generation of youth from nicotine addiction and vaping-related respiratory illness. Our kids deserve better from us. #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/CtePIHJaNw

— Todd Stone (@toddstonebc) September 18, 2019