Meeting between Health Canada and the Canadian Vaping Association – November 18, 2024

Subject(s)

CVA Illicit Market Report, challenges of the illicit market, and impacts of the proposed flavour restrictions for vaping products

Date

November 18, 2024

Participants

Health Canada

• Sonia Johnson (Chair), Director General, Tobacco Control Directorate, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch (CSCB)
• Cecilia Van Egmond, Director, Tobacco Products Regulatory Office, TCD, CSCB
• Ericka Tulloch, Director, Tobacco and Vaping Controlled Substances Division, Cannabis, Tobacco and Controlled Substances Directorate (CTCSD)
• Sophie Corriveau, Acting Associate Director, Office of Compliance for Tobacco and Vaping Products (OCTVP), TCD, CSCB
• Senior Manager, Tobacco and Vaping Controlled Substances Division, CTCSD
• Scientific Evaluator, OCTVP, TCD, CSCB
• Policy Analyst, Regulatory and International Policy, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, TCD, CSCB (Secretariat)

Canadian Vaping Association (CVA)

• Sam Tam, President
• Daniel David, Director
• Mike Dattu, Director
• Kevin Song, Compliance Task Force Member

Introduction

A meeting was held at the request of the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) to discuss vaping compliance issues and possible impacts of the proposed flavour restrictions for vaping products.

The Chair started the meeting with introductions.

The Chair read the transparency and disclosure statement. The Chair reminded participants that this meeting is subject to disclosure as per Health Canada's Openness and Transparency policies. The handling of information and privacy notice was outlined and acknowledged. The Chair 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 CVA participants.

Subjects

The CVA presented their Illicit Product Report conducted by the organization in 2024. The report found the following:

• Where one compliance failure was detected, it was common there would be multiple failures.
• Infractions were prevalent across multiple provinces, especially in British Columbia.
• Companies that were previously found non-compliant are still active and their products are widely available.

The report found that the most common violations included:

• Nicotine levels above the permitted limit of 20 mg/mL;
• False information on labels (e.g., volume of product and nicotine content);
• Violations of Schedule 3 to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (i.e., product name restrictions);
• Incorrect company address; and
• Excise tax violations (e.g., fraudulent excise stamps).

The CVA believes that federal enforcement is not being conducted in a timely manner and that fines and penalties should be increased, particularly for repeat offenders. Additionally, the CVA believes there should be greater coordination between federal and provincial/territorial governments where enforcement measures are concerned.

With regard to the proposed flavour restrictions, the CVA believes that similar restrictions at the provincial level (Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick) have not been effective and have caused a decrease in the legal market, while the illegal market has increased. The CVA is also concerned that any such restriction at the federal level would cause an increase in smoking rates or would cause Canadians who vape to instead purchase illegal products to continue to access their preferred flavours.

The CVA proposed a few measures to address youth vaping. These include: strengthening enforcement of existing regulations; strengthen age verification requirements for online sales; at the provincial/territorial level, increase the enforcement and penalties for selling vaping products to youth; and increase education of parents and those working with youth to help youth quit vaping.

Conclusion

The meeting was then concluded.

Documents

• Agenda as provided by the CVA
• CVA presentation