Quebec: Flavored vaping products still available on the Internet despite the ban

Four months after the ban on all flavors (other than tobacco) for vaping products, these flavored products remain very easily accessible on the Internet according to the media outlet Le Journal de Québec which tested it directly.[1]. While it is indeed prohibited in Quebec to purchase flavored products, nothing in the law prevents the shipping of these products across Canadian provinces. A regulatory loophole that urgently needs to be remedied according to the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control.

Since October 31, 2023, Quebec has: prohibits aromas other than tobacco flavor for electronic cigarettes. The new regulation also limits the nicotine concentration of e-liquids and the capacity of tanks and cartridges (pods)It also regulates labeling with information requirements on products and their packaging.

Besides Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories also ban flavours in vaping products.

Products available without age verification

According to the media outlet Le Journal de Québec, the order was sent by an Ontario retailer without any verification being carried out regarding age and place of residence. According to the Canadian federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, it is prohibited to ship or deliver, for a fee, a tobacco product from one province to another, unless the shipment or delivery is made between manufacturers and retailers. This does not apply to vaping products, which are not subject to this ban. While the provinces are encouraged to adopt measures that go beyond the federal provisions to combat youth smoking or vaping, the federal framework is not sufficient to optimize the implementation of provincial measures, denounces the spokesperson for the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control, Flory Doucas, who is calling on the federal government to react quickly to counter these circumventions.

Very soon after the ban, Quebec retailers changed their status to become grocery stores allowing them to sell “flavor enhancers” intended to be mixed with tobacco-flavored e-liquids.[2]. This new status is also problematic because it now allows minors to enter the stores, which was not possible as a specialist store. The Minister of Health had then promised that agents from the ministry would analyse these situations and carry out inspections if necessary to ensure that the law is respected.

Supported by more and more cities, states and countries around the world to protect young people, the ban on flavors for vaping products has sparked strong indignation from the vaping industry, which is worried about the loss of revenue.

Keywords: Quebec, flavors, Canada, Internet, vaping, electronic cigarettes, e-liquid

©Tobacco Free Generation

AE

[1] Nicolas Saint-Pierre, Online sales: flavored e-cigarettes still easily accessible, the Quebec newspaper, published March 6, 2024, consulted March 14, 2024

[2] Generation without tobacco, In Quebec, vaping stores circumvent the ban on flavours, published January 14, 2024, accessed March 14, 2024