HKPR District Health Unit Asking For Comments On the Smoke-Free Ontario Act 2017 Amendments

Pete Fisher
6 years ago
• Categories: Community, Editor Choice, Local

Good morning,

Last Thursday the government posted the draft SFOA 2017 regulation  http://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?language=en&postingId=27806.  This new draft of the regulation has significant changes that will have negative impacts on both smoking and vaping behaviours of Ontario residents, especially our youth and young adult population.  I’ve attached the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco (OCAT) backgrounder along with Qs and As, to outline our areas of concern and assist you in providing comments to the Regulatory Registry if you wish to do so.

We are asking all of partners to take part in this consultation process as we know that the vaping industry will be responding favorably to the changes in great numbers, and the public health community needs to respond in similar numbers to be heard.

PLEASE NOTE THE DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS IS NEXT MONDAY, OCTOBER 8.

For those who are only able to comment briefly, we suggest emphasis on the following points:

• While less toxic than cigarettes, vapes are not harmless. The scientific consensus: IF YOU DON’T SMOKE, DON’T VAPE. We don’t want our kids to be the guinea pigs for future health damage caused by vaping;
• Focus exclusively on youth access to vapes, and refer to what the US FDA has called an “epidemic” of youth vaping, driven largely by JUUL products – the latter are now available at retail in Ontario (backgrounder has facts/figures re increasing youth vaping in Ont.);
• Note that retail tobacco displays had a definite influence on youth attitudes toward smoking: we don’t want to make the same mistake with vaping devices;
• Most displays now in retail are of Vype, a tobacco industry product. We want to keep Big Tobacco away from our kids;
• Call for a ban on all retail displays and promotion except in specialty stores.

Dr. Lynn Noseworthy/Medical Officer of Health

 

Q&As
Q: What is your position on vaping as a cessation aid for smokers?
A: Health Canada has legalized the sale of e-cigarettes with nicotine so that e-cigarettes would be accessible as an option for smokers looking to quit. E-cigarettes are less harmful than conventional cigarettes, but e-cigarettes remain harmful. Studies on the long-term risks of ecigarettes are not yet available.
Smokers who have tried other methods to quit but have not succeeded could try e-cigarettes if it helps them stay off cigarettes. Individuals unable to quit completely would be better off from a health perspective to use e-cigarettes on a longer-term basis, if needed. Available research indicates that people should completely stop smoking to realize the comparative health benefits from using e-cigarettes. The best approach would be to quit altogether, with behavioural support or cessation aids or both increasing the chance of success. E-cigarettes should not be used by youth, by non-smokers, or by ex-smokers who have quit altogether.
Read more: http://www.cancer.ca/en/about-us/news/national/2018/may/our-perspective-on-ecigarettes/?region=on#ixzz5Q9xv0eto

Q: What is your position on in-store testing of vape products in specialty vape shops? What parameters should be put on that testing?
A: We would support regulation of in-store testing based on the BC model, where the government negotiated the testing protocol with the Canadian Vaping Association. The key components of BC’s approach are that no more than two individuals may test in-store at a time, and no vapour may escape to adjoining premises. We would support a similar protocol for Ontario.

Q: Given that sale of vapes to minors is banned, should restrictions be placed on specialty vaping businesses?
A: No minors should be allowed to enter specialty vaping stores, as products are displayed there and testing of vaping devices will be allowed there. The sale of JUUL-like products should be restricted to specialty vaping stores.

Q: What is your position on the marketing of vaping devices and products?
A: There should be comprehensive restrictions on marketing of vaping devices. While federal legislation does contain some advertising restrictions, such as banning lifestyle advertising, the federal restrictions are inadequate. As is the case for tobacco, it is up to provinces to control displays and promotion at retail for vaping products. That is why seven provinces have legislation banning retail displays and promotion for vaping products, except in specialty vape stores.
Our position is that marketing of vape products should align with restrictions on tobacco products in retail locations generally, and should be prohibited outside of specialty vape shops.

Q: Federal legislation already prohibits promotion if there are “reasonable grounds to believe that the advertising could be appealing to young persons.” The new provincial regulations are covered by that restriction. Why is that not sufficient?
A: Without additional provincial regulation, the federal legislation does not prohibit the types of displays in convenience stores, right next to candy bars, that we’re seeing today. ‘Appealing to young persons’ has been interpreted very narrowly. For exactly this reason, seven provinces have adopted bans on promotion and display of vaping products in retail stores, except in specialty vape shops.

Q: What is your position on the 1) sale, 2) display, 3) promotion of vaping products outside of specialty vape shops?
A: Given that vaping is a less harmful activity than smoking cigarettes, we agree that vaping products should be permitted to be sold wherever cigarettes are currently sold, including convenience stores. However, the same limitations currently placed on the display and sale of tobacco products should be extended to these products, which is emphasized by recent developments. The makers of JUUL vapes are now expanding into Canada: displays of JUULs can now be seen in Shell gas stations and convenience stores. Given the evidence emerging from the US re the products’ high nicotine content, ease of use, and the US FDA’s demand that JUUL and similar vaping products popular with kids be made inaccessible to them or risk being withdrawn from the market, the arrival in Canada of JUUL products makes it all the more important that displays and promotions at retail be banned.

Q: What enforcement gaps exist with regards to youth under 19 accessing vaping products? How do you recommend those gaps be addressed?
A: First and foremost, a minor should not be allowed to enter a specialty vape store – where vaping products can be displayed and tested – even if accompanied by an adult. A 2016 study showed about 3 in 10 retailers were willing to sell vapes to kids, another argument that supports the need to prohibit retail displays and promotions in convenience stores, and to require intensive retailer education about the need to not sell vapes to kids.

Q: Should specialty vape stores be permitted to sell heat-not-burn products like the iQOS?
A: IQOS and similar products contain tobacco and function through the vaporization of tobacco, and are therefore tobacco products. Questions have been raised concerning the toxicity of iQOS.9, 10 No specialty vape store should be allowed to sell any type of tobacco product including iQOS.

Q: What is the coalition’s position on the legalization of cannabis?
A: We would refer you to the Ontario Medical Association’s excellent resources on this topic at: http://www.ontariosdoctors.com/recreational-cannabis-marijuana/

1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2016. 2 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes. Washington National Academies Press.

3 Alzahrani, T, et al. Association Between Electronic Cigarette Use and Myocardial Infarction. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2018;000(000):1-7. 4 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes. Washington National Academies Press. 5 Ibid 6 Vaping [Internet]. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada; 2018 [updated 2016 Jun 27; cited 2018 Jul 31]. Available from: http://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/smoking-tobacco/vaping.html#a1 7 Propel Centre for Population Healthy Impact, University of Waterloo. Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey Overview of Results, 1994-2016/17; 20018 8 Angus Reid Institute. Vexed over vaping: Kids are top concern amid Canadian uncertainty about effects of e-cigarettes. September 17, 2018 9 Davis B, Williams M, and Talbot P. iQOS: evidence of pyrolysis and release of a toxicant from plastic. Tobacco Control, March 13, 2018 (online first). 10 Glantz, Stan. PMI’s own in vivo clinical data on biomarkers of potential harm in Americans show that iQOS is not detectably different from conventional cigarettes. Tobacco Control 2018;0:1-