Canadian provinces that allow retail displays promoting e-cigarettes had nearly three times the teen vaping rate, a new study found.
Until May 2018, e-cigarettes weren’t widely available in Canada and it was illegal to advertise those containing nicotine. When the law changed, Quebec and Manitoba adopted their own restrictions, including bans on retail displays and ads for e-cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Study author David Hammond, a professor of public health at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, said this situation set up a “unique natural experiment” for researchers as Canada went from ban to a more open market.
“It allowed us to answer the hypothetical question: Would lifting the restrictions make a difference in teen e-cigarette use?” he said.
The answer? “E-cigarette marketing does make a difference,” Hammond said. “It does reach minors. What our study says is that regulating marketing limited the amount of vaping.”
He said trends are similar to those in the United States—advertisers appear to be targeting a younger audience.
“There’s social media marketing, digital media and retail stores themselves,” Hammond said. “Retail stores are one of the most common areas of exposure—you go in for a bag of chips or some milk, and you’re confronted with product supplies and ads.”
While Canada requires retailers to keep traditional cigarettes out of sight, many now have e-cigarette displays or large ads featuring them.
Serena Gordon – Medical Press – June 29, 2020.
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