Health Canada and National Smokeless Tobacco Company meeting: Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations Compliance – December 15, 2023

Subject:

Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations Compliance

Date:

December 15, 2023

Participants:

Health Canada (HC)

• Sally Gibbs (Chair), Acting Director General, Consumer Products and Controlled Substances Directorate (CPCSD), Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch
• Sonia Johnson, Director General, Tobacco Control Directorate (TCD), Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch (CSCB)
• Sophie Corriveau, Acting Associate Director, Office of Compliance for Tobacco and Vaping Products and System Configurations Unit (OCTVP), TCD, CSCB
• Acting Manager, Operations, OCTVP, TCD, CSCB
• Policy Analyst, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, TCD, CSCB (Secretariat)

National Smokeless Tobacco Company (NSTC)

• Jean-François Turcotte, President
• Jasmine Odlin, Director of Government and Corporate Affairs
• Adam Taylor, Regulatory Consultant
• Bruce Winchester, Executive Director, Canadian Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance

Introduction:

A meeting was held at the request of NSTC to present their compliance concerns and proposed path forward relating to new labelling requirements for smokeless tobacco products under the Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations (TPAPLR), as a follow-up to a previous meeting, held November 2, 2023.

The Chair opened the meeting with round table introductions.

Participants were reminded that this meeting is subject to disclosure as per HC's Openness and Transparency policies. In the interest of transparency, the Department stated that it would be making a record of the meeting publicly available. The handling of information and privacy notice was mentioned and acknowledged.

HC also referred to Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), its international obligation to protect tobacco control policies from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. It was acknowledged by NSTC representatives.

Subjects:

NSTC reiterated technical challenges related to new labelling requirements under the TPAPLR, which came into force in August 2023, specifically as they apply to smokeless tobacco products, as a follow-up to a previous meeting, held November 2, 2023. Specifically, NSTC's current smokeless tobacco packaging is not large enough to meet the minimum health warning size requirement, thereby requiring a new packaging design.

NSTC noted that they had identified a new packaging design that will meet the new standards and will be able to accommodate the minimum health warning size requirement. However, they flagged that it would not be possible to bring it to market by the January 31, 2024. NSTC also noted that they believed it was important that there not be a gap in supply in the legal market. This alternative packaging had been identified, sourced, and is under development. NSTC requested an extension until September 2024 to be able to bring their new packaging design to market.

HC thanked NSTC for their comments and asked the following questions:

• Could some products be available earlier, and what percentage?
• In terms of the timeline provided, is that the best case scenario or does it already include some mitigation measures?

NSTC further asked how enforcement would work, if an extension were to be granted. HC explained that, depending on what would be determined moving forward, priorities and direction would be communicated to enforcement teams.

In closing, HC indicated that it would require some time to review the issue.

Conclusion:

The meeting was then concluded.

Documents:

• Agenda as provided by NSTC
• Packaging update presented as provided by NSTC