The federal law regulating tobacco and vaping products hasn害羞草研究所檛 kept up with the rapidly changing menu of nicotine items on the market, prompting an anti-smoking group to lament the lack of legislative updates.
Addictions Minister Ya害羞草研究所檃ra Saks quietly tabled an internal review of the anti-tobacco legislation at the end of the spring sitting of Parliament, just before MPs returned to their ridings for the summer.
It found that 害羞草研究所渟ignificant progress害羞草研究所� has been made to address tobacco-related death and disease in Canada, and recommended no amendments to the legislation.
But the review also shows the rate of people who quit smoking has remained more or less the same for the last 20 years.
Meanwhile, rates of youth vaping have more than doubled since the legislation was expanded to regulate vaping in 2018, and new nicotine products have come on the market.
害羞草研究所淧eople who grew up smoking cigarettes continue to smoke cigarettes,害羞草研究所� said Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. 害羞草研究所淵ounger generations are shifting from cigarettes to vaping products, and they害羞草研究所檙e doing so in greater numbers.害羞草研究所�
The report landed during an ongoing spat between the tobacco industry and Health Minister Mark Holland, who has vowed to prevent more Canadians from becoming addicted.
Part of the problem is the government has continued to play 害羞草研究所渨hack-a-mole害羞草研究所� with new nicotine products ever since the legislation was expanded to include vaping in 2018, said University of Waterloo professor David Hammond.
害羞草研究所淲e always end up with sort of a government scrambling to catch up to the most recent products and finding that they害羞草研究所檙e regulated through a slightly different avenue,害羞草研究所� said Hammond, who studies tobacco and vaping regulation.
害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e left with a situation where we have experienced an increase in nicotine uptake among young people for the first time in decades.害羞草研究所�
The legislation is intended to allow people who smoke to make the switch to a less harmful habit, like vaping, while protecting young people and non-smokers from becoming addicted.
害羞草研究所淚 don害羞草研究所檛 challenge the government害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所� sincerity and efforts, but quite clearly, they haven害羞草研究所檛 achieved the balance,害羞草研究所� said Hammond.
The report did highlight some potential areas of improvement, Saks害羞草研究所� office said in a statement Monday, and the minister害羞草研究所檚 staff plan to continue to refine their strategy accordingly.
害羞草研究所淏ased on our experience with reducing youth use of tobacco, we know that comprehensive measures can impact youth uptake and use of vaping products,害羞草研究所� the minister害羞草研究所檚 office said.
An advocacy group for people who have used vaping to break free of cigarettes called Rights4Vapers launched several letter-writing campaigns in an effort to preserve access to the tool they say best helped them quit.
The government has had similar struggles in regulating newer nicotine products like Zonnic, a pouch that users place between their gums and upper lip.
Holland promised a major crackdown on the pouches, which were approved by Health Canada to help people quit smoking but have also been used recreationally.
The pouches are subject to different rules than vape and tobacco products, and the minister was granted new powers in the recently passed budget bill to pull them off shelves if he considers them harmful and not being used to quit smoking.
Hammond said ideally all nicotine products would be regulated by a single, coherent regime.
Vaping has proven to be a helpful tool for some to quit cigarettes, Holland said last week when the report was tabled. But he added it is important to make sure that害羞草研究所檚 what they害羞草研究所檙e used for, and not as 害羞草研究所渁nother vector for addiction.害羞草研究所�
As for why the legislation isn害羞草研究所檛 being updated, Holland said he believes it害羞草研究所檚 best to target the industry for now.
害羞草研究所淚f we害羞草研究所檙e going to help people, I think we have to go after the industry, really expose the tactics that they use to addict people, how they go after young people,害羞草研究所� Holland said.
害羞草研究所淚 want to see us take every action that we can, but we can害羞草研究所檛 just take action for the sake of taking action. It needs to be informed by evidence.害羞草研究所�
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