(Ottawa) — Heart & Stroke welcomes the final set of regulations announced today by Health Minister Patty Hajdu to further restrict e-cigarette marketing and promotion.
“We are pleased to see Health Canada taking much needed action to protect young people from vaping by tightening restrictions around e-cigarette advertising,” says Dr. Andrew Pipe, board chair, Heart & Stroke. “Youth vaping has become a crisis, resulting in a new generation becoming addicted to nicotine.”
One-fifth of grades 7 – 12 students in Canada vape and 34% report having ever tried an e-cigarette. A recent Canadian study showed that vaping among youth skyrocketed by 112% from 2017 to 2019.
The regulations address promotion of vaping products that can be seen or heard by young people, and include locations where youth have access. Point of sale promotion, social media, television, and public spaces such as billboards, public transit, parks and other locations are covered in the legislation that comes into effect on August 7, 2020. Some retail locations where youth have access have until September 6, 2020 to comply. All advertisements must include a health warning attributed to Health Canada and these warnings will continue to be updated by the department.
Industry has targeted youth through aggressive marketing, enticing fruit and candy flavours, attractive product design and generally low prices. Many products used by youth have high concentrations of nicotine – as much as an entire package of cigarettes. Nicotine is highly addictive and damaging to developing brains.
“Today’s announcement is progress, but further measures are urgently needed to keep young people from vaping, including a comprehensive flavour ban, a limit on nicotine content and increased taxation,” says Dr. Pipe.
For more information
Stephanie Lawrence
Senior Manager, Communications
Heart & Stroke
613-290-4236
stephanie.lawrence@heartandstroke.ca
About Heart & Stroke
Life. We don’t want you to miss it. That’s why Heart & Stroke leads the fight against heart disease and stroke. We must generate the next medical breakthroughs, so people in Canada don’t miss out on precious moments. Together, we are working to prevent disease, save lives and promote recovery through research, health promotion and public policy.