In Quebec, vaping stores are stocking up on sweets to attract minors

At least two e-cigarette store chains have changed their business purpose by adding a candy section in order to be authorized to serve minors. The Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control has filed a complaint with the Ministry of Health and is calling for a ban on flavors in nicotine products.

Access by minors to stores specializing in the sale of electronic cigarettes is prohibited in Quebec. To circumvent this regulation, at least two chains of this type of store have added candy sections to their offerings, allowing them to be considered regular grocery stores, and therefore to welcome minors.

After observing this phenomenon for several months, the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control (CQCT) sent a documented complaint about the situation to the Minister of Health and Social Services.[1]To address this, the Coalition is calling for a ban on flavourings for all nicotine products, something it has already called for several times.

A transformation following an unfavorable court decision

The Coalition's findings implicate the Vapetown and Eurovap chain stores, which for several years specialized in electronic cigarettes and vaping products. Since the beginning of 2022, these two brands have included a wide variety of confectionery and sweets in their departments, particularly promoting exotic flavors. The website ofEurovap, which only featured vaping products in 2021, now only features sweet and snack products, while mentioning that its franchises sell both vaping products and exotic snack products. Vapetown, for its part, has developed the Munchiz brand, a sweets specialist that also sells vaping products. Two other independent specialty stores have also been implicated in the same finding.

This subterfuge seems very clearly intended to attract minors, who are prohibited from visiting vaping stores. Vaping stores would escape this ban by presenting themselves as simple retail stores, but would in this case not be allowed to display their vaping products. However, numerous violations of the visibility of vaping products have been noted. "There would be more financial benefit in exposing young people to the vaping product offering and the flavour marketing surrounding them, than in simply catering to a clientele of adult vapers." specifies Flory Doucas, spokesperson for the Quebec Coalition, who sees above all a commercial calculation in this transformation of stores[2]She also points out that this change was observed in the wake of a court decision against the vaping industry in November 2021 regarding the law governing vaping stores.

Flavors already banned or restricted in the rest of Canada

"What needs to be prioritized, as was done for tobacco, is reducing the appeal of these products in order to counter the desire of young people to consume them.", continues Flory Ducas, explaining why the issue of aromas is so determiningA Scandinavian study thus points out that sweet aromas are preferred by new users, and that fruity aromas suggest less harmfulness than aromas with tobacco flavors.[3]. Although the government declared itself in November 2019 in favor of better regulation of flavors[4], little has moved forward since then in Quebec.

Other Canadian provinces, such as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories, have already enacted the ban on flavours for electronic cigarettes, as they did for tobacco products.[5]. These bans have since been confirmed by the courts, following legal action by manufacturers. The latter's claim that banning flavours would lead to a resurgence in smoking has not been proven true. In Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, the sale of vaping products is strictly limited to specialist stores.

Towards better regulation of vaping products

Beyond the ban on flavours, the Quebec Coalition recommends several other measures, such as limiting the nicotine level to 20 mg/ml, setting a maximum volume for bottles and cartridges of liquids, adopting plain packaging for equipment and e-liquids, affixing health warnings, banning "smart" devices that transmit data to the manufacturer, introducing a fee-based permit for sales, distribution and importation, and restricting the names given to specialty stores in order to limit their appeal. In Quebec, as elsewhere, the regulation of vaping stores and products is therefore still a work in progress. The Coalition points out that in Canada, no manufacturer of vaping products has sought to have its products approved as a therapeutic aid for quitting smoking by Health Canada.

Keywords: Quebec, Canada, CQCT, confectionery, flavors, vaping, minors

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[1] CQCT, Market developments demonstrate need to ban flavors, complaint to the Minister of Health and Social Services, February 20, 2023.

[2] Flag-Border A, Vape shops disguise themselves as candy stores, Metro, published February 21, 2023, consulted February 22, 2023.

[3] Nordic Welfare Center, The significance of flavor additives in the use of moist snuff and e-cigarettes, January 2019, 28 p.

[4] Ministry of Health and Social Services, Fight against smoking and vaping - Minister Danielle McCann mandates the national director of public health to propose new measures by April, published November 25, 2019, accessed February 22, 2023.

[5] Rowe D, Vape stores selling candy to entice teens: Quebec anti-tobacco coalition, CTV News Montreal, published February 21, 2023, accessed February 22, 2023.