Montreal, Quebec – September 19, 2023 – As Quebec prepares to abolish flavours in vaping as of November 1, a CBC report last week (https://shorturl.at/jMVW8) revealed that the number of young vapers in Nova Scotia has increased since the province banned flavoured vaping products.
“As we can see in Nova Scotia, young people are vaping more than ever, even though flavours are banned. And only 14% of young people say they get their vaping products from specialist stores, which means they buy them on the black market. This can be very dangerous, as these products are not subject to any controls. The solution we proposed to the CAQ government was designed to counter this,” said Maria Papaioannoy, spokesperson for Rights4Vapers.
Statistics Canada data show that a third of the province’s high school students are vapers, and nearly 55% of them say they’ve tried it at least once.
Vapers rights organizations, Rights4Vapers and La Coalition des droits des vapoteurs du Québec (CDVQ), are concerned about the situation that could quickly recur in Quebec with the CAQ government’s decision to abolish flavours.
What worries R4V and the CDVQ is that the abolition of flavours will not only have no effect on the rate of vaping among young people, as the public health authorities believe, it will also create an even greater danger, as young people will buy their products on the black market and on countless Internet sites that are not subject to any Health Canada regulations.
The problem with abolishing flavours is that the government thinks it has solved everything. Paradoxically, young people have never had so much access to vaping products. Thanks to the black market, the supply to young people will be even greater. In fact, this is one of the reasons why vaping among young people is on the rise in Nova Scotia. Supply is everywhere.
In Quebec, vaping stores are subject to very strict rules for the sale of vaping products: age, control of flavours and ingredients, packaging, nicotine levels and many others.
“When the stores close next November, organized crime will invade the school grounds, with retailers offering any kind of product, many of them very dangerous to young people’s health. Do you think the inspectors from the Ministry of Health will go and question organized crime and tell them that it’s not right to sell dangerous products to young people? If a tragedy occurs, the government will have to take the blame. It’s not too late for the government to reverse its decision, so as not to create an even bigger problem,” concludes Valerie Gallant, spokesperson of the CDVQ.
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INFO : Maria Papaioannoy, Spokespers
Rights4Vapers
Email : maria@right4vapers.com
Valerie Gallant, Spokesperson
Coalition des droits des vapoteurs du Québec
Email : info@droitsdesvapoteurs.ca
