Toronto Public Health calls for tougher regulations on vape products
Posted December 2, 2019 10:10 am.
Last Updated December 2, 2019 12:24 pm.
Stricter regulations on vaping may be coming after a new report recommends the product be regulated like cigarettes.
In the report, which will be presented to the Board of Health on Dec. 9, Toronto’s medical officer of health recommends the provincial and federal government amend the Smoke-Free Ontario Act to bring vape products closer in line to the strict regulations facing tobacco products.
Some of the recommendations include prohibiting the sale of flavoured vapour products (other than tobacco flavour) in stores that are accessible to minors; and implementing advertising and promotion restrictions.
This comes after several reports of vape-related illnesses.
“While aerosolized products, also known as e-cigarettes, are considered by some health authorities to be less harmful than combustible tobacco cigarettes, Health Canada and other health authorities have concluded that the long-term health effects from the use of aerosolized products are not yet fully known,” the report reads.
The report also calls for the City of Toronto to create bylaws similar to tobacco use, which would restrict the locations of where e-cigarettes can be smoked.
Coun. Joe Cressy voiced his support for tougher regulations for e-cigarettes on Twitter Monday.
“The more we learn about the health consequences of vaping, the worse it gets,” he tweeted.
“Thankfully, when it comes to regulating e-cigarettes we don’t have to re-invent the wheel. Decades of tobacco control has worked. Now, Governments must act to implement similar strict controls on vaping.”
One of the goals is to decrease the use of vape products by youth.
The report noted that from 2017-18, University of Waterloo researchers documented a 74 per cent increase in the proportion of Canadian youth reporting they had used aerosolized liquid products in the past month (from 8.4 per cent to 14.6 per cent).
Toronto Public Health isn’t the first organization to try to crack down on vape use this year.
Last month, New York City lawmakers voted to ban flavoured electronic cigarettes after a lawsuit halted a statewide ban.
Click here to read the complete report.
