Ex-smokers worry the proposed regulations to cut down on nicotine in vapes might bring them back to cigarettes.
Canada’s plan to significantly decrease the amount of nicotine allowed in vapes and potentially restrict flavours to curb teen vaping has sparked anger among vapers and ex-smokers who say the new rules may turn them back to smokers.
The federal department of Health says the availability of high-nicotine vaping products in the market since 2018 is one of the factors that led to a swift rise in teen vaping.
According to the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs Survey, students in Grades 7-12 who vaped doubled from 2016-17 to 2018-19, rising from 10 to 20.2 percent. Nearly 30 percent of Grades 10-12 students were vaping in 2018-19.
The proposal to limit the nicotine concentration in vapes to 20 mg/mL from the previously set 66 mg/mL passed its public consultation period in March and, according to some vape retailers, is expected to be reviewed throughout the spring. It was already implemented provincially in Nova Scotia and British Columbia in 2020.
Naama Weingarten – VICE – 2021-06-15.
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