Nova Scotia has become the third province to suggest restricting vaping Products in the province. Ontario and British Columbia have both proposed provincial regulations on vaping, but Nova Scotia’s proposed bans are, by far, the most restrictive in Canada.
The ban is set to come into place on April 1, 2020, and it will include the ban of “any flavours of the liquid”. The only available e-liquid and vaping products in Nova Scotia will be tobacco and bland flavour.
Groups like the Canadian Cancer Society, the Lung Association of Nova Scotia, and smoke-free Nova Scotia were all in support of this ban being imposed urgently and effectively. “It’s a decision that we are really pleased with. This is really kind of taking action as concrete today, and then those supportive measures will hopefully come in place in the spring” said Kelly Cull, director of public policy with the Canadian Cancer Society in Atlantic Canada.
Cull also wants the province to raise the minimum age to purchase vaping products from 19 to 21, as well as add regulations so vaping products can only be sold at adult-only establishments. She further suggests that banning online sales and capping nicotine levels in the products would also be considered.
Other suggestions by these advocacy groups included increasing the taxes on vaping products and imposing a ban.
In the history of government, bans typically do very little but drive the industry into black-market territory, where it is impossible to regulate and control the quality of the products. Our concern is that banning flavours and e-liquids will simply reduce the quality control of products and push homemade DIY e-liquids on the black market. These e-liquids will not be manufactured using quality-controlled products, but rather by people, in their homes, using crude measuring devices, and unregulated flavours and mixes.
