Tobacco harm reduction experts David Abrams, Clive Bates, Raymond Niaura, and David Sweanor have made the decision to write to Health Canada in response to the body attempting to remove flavoured e-liquids from the market, something Clive Bates calls “a really dumb idea”.
Clive says: “Health Canada is trying to ban almost all vaping liquid flavours. This is on top of measures to limit nicotine strengths and marketing. It is the nearest they can get to a prohibition without actually having to prohibit the most promising low-risk rival to cigarettes.
“The likely effects are obvious: more smoking. But in a bizarre twisting of reality and evidence, Health Canada finds that making vaping less attractive relative to smoking will… um … reduce smoking. And that’s how it justifies the measure. We respond with a counter-analysis.”
Health Canada’s position outlined in Proposed vaping products’ flavour regulations and order, June 2021 relies on four documents, two of which it has refused to publish but says it will make available “upon request”.
The letter from the quartet outlines the key points from their 17-page PDF submission to the consultation exercise. It states:
Dave Cross – Planet of the Vapes – 2021-09-09.