WVS NEWS: Canada Pauses Flavoured Vape Ban
The study, which analysed data from 1,771 adults who smoked or recently quit, found no significant differences in the types of flavours or devices used between those who successfully quit smoking and those who did not. It also revealed that 36.5% of respondents attempted to quit smoking between 2020 and 2022, with 19.4% using vaping products during their most recent attempt. Younger individuals who quit were more likely to have used vapes, with pre-filled cartridges or pods being the most common devices (36.3%) and fruit flavours preferred by 39.5% of users. These findings highlight the role flavoured vaping products may play in smoking-cessation efforts among Canadian adults.
Policy ‘waiting for a signature’
The government has not disclosed the reason for suspending the flavour ban. However, minister Saks clarified that the ban has not been revoked, stating that the proposed policy “remains in place, waiting for a signature”.
David Sweanor, an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa and co-author of the study, told ECigIntelligence that vaping is a significant tool for Canadians trying to quit smoking, with many relying on products that would be banned under the proposed policy. He warned that bans do not eliminate products but instead push them into unregulated markets. Citing Quebec’s flavour ban, Sweanor noted that flavoured vaping products remain widely available without regulatory oversight.
“The evidence on product substitution effects is now impossible to ignore, as are the foreseeable negative consequences of giving further marketplace advantages to cigarettes,” he said. While some health advocates support restrictions to curb youth vaping, Sweanor argued that banning low-risk alternatives while cigarettes remain widely available could undermine public health efforts.
The Canadian government initially proposed federal restrictions in 2021 to limit vape flavours to tobacco, menthol and mint to reduce youth vaping.
– Antonia Di Lorenzo ECigIntelligence staff
