Question Period Note: YOUTH VAPING

• Since late 2018, the Government of Canada has implemented a comprehensive suite of measures to address youth vaping, including enhanced public education, increased compliance and enforcement of existing rules and advancing regulations to put in place more controls.

KEY MESSAGES
• Our Government is concerned by the high rates of youth vaping, and is taking comprehensive action.
• Regulations now prohibit the promotion and advertising of vaping products anywhere they can be seen or heard by youth. This means that young Canadians should no longer see advertising for vaping products in public spaces, in convenience stores or online.
• New regulations are also now in force setting a maximum nicotine concentration for all vaping products, and Health Canada recently consulted Canadians on proposed regulations to restrict flavours in vaping products to make them less attractive to youth.
• My department has also intensified enforcement of the strong set of controls that Parliament established under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act and will continue these efforts to ensure that industry is compliant with our regulations.
IF PRESSED ON THE YOUTH-ORIENTED PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN…
• In early 2019, Health Canada launched the Consider the Consequences of Vaping prevention campaign to inform youth and parents of the risks and harms associated with vaping. To date, Health Canada has invested more than $13 million, and an additional $1 million is planned to continue the campaign this year.
• The campaign has included digital advertising on social media and television, advertising in malls, cinemas and on transit and print and online resources. It has also included an interactive learning tour in schools and community venues or virtually.
• To date, the interactive learning tour has reached over 140,000 youth in over 515 schools across the country. The interactive learning tour is returning to delivering its programming in person for the 2021-2022 school year.
• Vaping awareness kits were also provided to all middle and high schools across Canada. Information resources were also sent to health care professionals to share in their offices.
IF PRESSED ON COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT OF CURRENT MEASURES…
• The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act has significant restrictions in place to limit youth access to vaping products and vaping product promotions. For example, it is prohibited to furnish a vaping product to anyone under 18 in Canada, and lifestyle advertising of vaping products is strictly prohibited under the Act.
• Health Canada has taken actions that have led companies to remove:
o lifestyle advertising or advertisements from television and in-store displays; and,
o online content from social media influencers that encouraged youth vaping.
• In 2019, Health Canada inspected more than 3,000 retailers of vaping products and seized more than 80,000 units of non-compliant vaping products.
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic on-site inspections were temporarily suspended, however, vaping products were being sampled remotely and virtual inspections are being conducted online, focussing on enforcing the promotion prohibitions under the TVPA on social media sites.
• Between July 2020 and March 2021, Health Canada inspectors conducted over 300 online inspections of Canadian vaping retailers’ Instagram accounts that focused on publicly accessible online promotions and advertisements, such as the promotion of vaping products that would potentially be attractive to youth.
• During that time, Health Canada issued approximately 160 warning letters requesting corrective action to the retailers that were non-compliant.
IF PRESSED ON THE LEGISLATIVE REVIEW …
• Section 60.1(1) of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) requires a legislative review of the Act on a two year cycle, three years after the legislation comes into force. A report must be tabled in both houses of Parliament by May 23, 2022.
• Health Canada has begun the preparatory work on the legislative review of the Act, and will be seeking input from Canadians in the near future on whether the Act is achieving its stated objectives.
IF PRESSED ON FLAVOURS REGULATIONS …
• On June 19th, 2021, Health Canada published the proposed order to amend the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (flavours) and the proposed Standards for Vaping Products’ Sensory Attributes Regulations.
• The proposed regulations would implement a complementary three-pronged approach to restricting the flavours of vaping products.
• More specifically, the regulations would restrict
o the promotion of flavours in vaping products to tobacco, mint, and menthol;
o prohibit all sugars and sweeteners and most flavouring ingredients; and
o prescribe sensory attributes standards to prevent a sensory perception other than one that is typical of tobacco or mint/menthol.
• The consultations closed on September 2, 2021 and Health Canada received over 25,000 submissions and is currently reviewing the input it received from Canadians.

Since late 2018, the Government of Canada has implemented a comprehensive suite of measures to address youth vaping, including enhanced public education, increased compliance and enforcement of existing rules and advancing regulations to put in place more controls.
Health Canada’s national public education campaign “Consider the Consequences of Vaping” informs youth and their parents about the risks and harms associated with vaping through advertising, interactive learning tours in schools and online. To date, Health Canada has invested more than $13 million, and an additional $1 million is planned to continue the campaign this year.
Enforcing the strong set of controls already established under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act remains an important part of the Government’s efforts. The department has taken action to shut down illegal promotions by major national brands.
The Vaping Products Promotion Regulations came into force on August 7, 2020. These regulations prohibit any vaping product promotions in locations or media visible to youth. Additionally, the regulations require all remaining permitted ads to include clear health warnings to increase awareness of the risks of these products.
In addition, the Vaping Product Labeling and Packaging Regulations came into force on July 1, 2020. These regulations require that vaping products containing nicotine display a standardized nicotine concentration statement and a health warning about the addictiveness of nicotine as well as a toxicity warning to further increase awareness of the risks.
On July 8, 2021, new Nicotine Concentration in Vaping Products Regulations came into force, which set a maximum nicotine concentration for vaping products sold to 20 mg/ml, down from 66 mg/ml. As of July 23, 2021, it is prohibited to sell any vaping products with a nicotine concentration higher than 20 mg/ml in Canada.
Building on feedback from consultations in 2019, on June 19th, 2021, Health Canada published the proposed Order Amending Schedules 2 and 3 to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (flavours) and the proposed Standards for Vaping Products’ Sensory Attributes Regulations. The proposal is a three-pronged approach to restricting flavoured vaping products. The regulations would restrict the promotion of flavours in vaping products to tobacco, mint, and menthol; prohibit all sugars and sweeteners and most flavouring ingredients; and prescribe sensory attributes standards to prevent a sensory perception other than one that is typical of tobacco or mint/menthol. The consultation period for the proposed regulations closed September 2, 2021 and the department is reviewing feedback on this proposal.
On April 19, 2021, Finance Canada announced its intention to implement a tax on vaping products in 2022, through the introduction of a new excise duty framework. The proposed framework would impose a single flat rate duty on every 10 millilitres (ml) of vaping liquid or fraction thereof, within an immediate container (i.e., the container holding the liquid itself). Finance Canada requested input from industry and stakeholders on the proposal by June 30, 2021, and is reviewing the feedback received.
Smoking is the leading preventable cause of premature death and disease in Canada. Smoking-related disease is caused by the toxic and carcinogenic chemicals in smoke. Vaping products expose users to far fewer toxic chemicals and substances than conventional cigarettes, and are less harmful alternatives to tobacco products if they quit smoking and switch completely to vaping.
However, vaping is not harmless. Vaping nicotine can lead to addiction and physical dependence and youth are especially susceptible to the negative effects of nicotine. Moreover, the long-term health effects of vaping are unknown. For these reasons, the TVPA seeks to protect the health of youth and non-users from exposure to and dependence on nicotine, and help ensure that Canadians are not misled with regard to the health hazards of using vaping products and/or nicotine.
In December 2019, the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS) results from 2018-2019 indicated e-cigarette prevalence rates doubled among students since the last survey with 20% of students reporting having used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, an increase from 10% in 2016-2017. These students also reported using vaping products more frequently. Health Canada has not seen a corresponding increase in student smoking rates;these rates continue to be at all-time lows. Results showed the prevalence of current daily smoking decreased among students in Grades 7 to 12 to 0.9% in 2018-2019, down from 1.3% in 2016-2017.
In March 2021, Statistics Canada released the 2020 Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey (CTNS) results that indicated youth vaping rates have not increased from the previous survey in 2019. While the rates remain high, more data is needed to determine a potential trend. Health Canada will be closely monitoring youth use of vaping products through the CTNS and CSTADS.
Section 60.1(1) of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) requires that the Minister perform a legislative review of the Act on a two year cycle, three years after the legislation comes into force. The review was proposed as an opportunity for Parliament to keep an eye on the new areas of regulatory coverage relating to vaping products, especially their impact on youth.
The US Food and Drug Administration, under its Premarket Tobacco Product Application process, has reviewed the applications of over 6 million vaping products to determine whether any meet the criteria of protecting public health, taking into account the risks and benefits to the population as a whole.
While the review process has not been completed, on October 12, 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration announced it had authorized the marketing of three new electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The FDA issued orders to R.J. Reynolds (RJR) Vapor Company authorizing marketing for its Vuse Solo closed ENDS device and accompanying tobacco-flavored e-liquid pods. The RJR Vapor Company submitted data to the FDA that demonstrated that the marketing of these products is appropriate for the protection of public health, and the authorization allows these products to be legally sold in the U.S.
For these three products, the FDA determined that the potential benefit to smokers who switch completely or significantly reduce their cigarette use, would outweigh the risk to youth, provided the applicant follows post-marketing requirements aimed at reducing youth exposure and access to the products (e.g., regular reporting to the FDA, marketing restrictions for digital, radio and television advertising).
In Canada, the Food and Drugs Act applies to vaping products that make health claims, such as help to quit smoking.These products must be authroized under this act before they can be advertised, sold, or commercially imported. To date, no vaping products have been authorized under this Act and no applications have been received.Since late 2018, the Government of Canada has implemented a comprehensive suite of measures to address youth vaping, including enhanced public education, increased compliance and enforcement of existing rules and advancing regulations to put in place more controls.
Health Canada’s national public education campaign “Consider the Consequences of Vaping” informs youth and their parents about the risks and harms associated with vaping through advertising, interactive learning tours in schools and online. To date, Health Canada has invested more than $13 million, and an additional $1 million is planned to continue the campaign this year.
Enforcing the strong set of controls already established under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act remains an important part of the Government’s efforts. The department has taken action to shut down illegal promotions by major national brands.
The Vaping Products Promotion Regulations came into force on August 7, 2020. These regulations prohibit any vaping product promotions in locations or media visible to youth. Additionally, the regulations require all remaining permitted ads to include clear health warnings to increase awareness of the risks of these products.
In addition, the Vaping Product Labeling and Packaging Regulations came into force on July 1, 2020. These regulations require that vaping products containing nicotine display a standardized nicotine concentration statement and a health warning about the addictiveness of nicotine as well as a toxicity warning to further increase awareness of the risks.
On July 8, 2021, new Nicotine Concentration in Vaping Products Regulations came into force, which set a maximum nicotine concentration for vaping products sold to 20 mg/ml, down from 66 mg/ml. As of July 23, 2021, it is prohibited to sell any vaping products with a nicotine concentration higher than 20 mg/ml in Canada.
Building on feedback from consultations in 2019, on June 19th, 2021, Health Canada published the proposed Order Amending Schedules 2 and 3 to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (flavours) and the proposed Standards for Vaping Products’ Sensory Attributes Regulations. The proposal is a three-pronged approach to restricting flavoured vaping products. The regulations would restrict the promotion of flavours in vaping products to tobacco, mint, and menthol; prohibit all sugars and sweeteners and most flavouring ingredients; and prescribe sensory attributes standards to prevent a sensory perception other than one that is typical of tobacco or mint/menthol. The consultation period for the proposed regulations closed September 2, 2021 and the department is reviewing feedback on this proposal.
On April 19, 2021, Finance Canada announced its intention to implement a tax on vaping products in 2022, through the introduction of a new excise duty framework. The proposed framework would impose a single flat rate duty on every 10 millilitres (ml) of vaping liquid or fraction thereof, within an immediate container (i.e., the container holding the liquid itself). Finance Canada requested input from industry and stakeholders on the proposal by June 30, 2021, and is reviewing the feedback received.
Smoking is the leading preventable cause of premature death and disease in Canada. Smoking-related disease is caused by the toxic and carcinogenic chemicals in smoke. Vaping products expose users to far fewer toxic chemicals and substances than conventional cigarettes, and are less harmful alternatives to tobacco products if they quit smoking and switch completely to vaping.
However, vaping is not harmless. Vaping nicotine can lead to addiction and physical dependence and youth are especially susceptible to the negative effects of nicotine. Moreover, the long-term health effects of vaping are unknown. For these reasons, the TVPA seeks to protect the health of youth and non-users from exposure to and dependence on nicotine, and help ensure that Canadians are not misled with regard to the health hazards of using vaping products and/or nicotine.
In December 2019, the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS) results from 2018-2019 indicated e-cigarette prevalence rates doubled among students since the last survey with 20% of students reporting having used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, an increase from 10% in 2016-2017. These students also reported using vaping products more frequently. Health Canada has not seen a corresponding increase in student smoking rates;these rates continue to be at all-time lows. Results showed the prevalence of current daily smoking decreased among students in Grades 7 to 12 to 0.9% in 2018-2019, down from 1.3% in 2016-2017.
In March 2021, Statistics Canada released the 2020 Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey (CTNS) results that indicated youth vaping rates have not increased from the previous survey in 2019. While the rates remain high, more data is needed to determine a potential trend. Health Canada will be closely monitoring youth use of vaping products through the CTNS and CSTADS.
Section 60.1(1) of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) requires that the Minister perform a legislative review of the Act on a two year cycle, three years after the legislation comes into force. The review was proposed as an opportunity for Parliament to keep an eye on the new areas of regulatory coverage relating to vaping products, especially their impact on youth.
The US Food and Drug Administration, under its Premarket Tobacco Product Application process, has reviewed the applications of over 6 million vaping products to determine whether any meet the criteria of protecting public health, taking into account the risks and benefits to the population as a whole.
While the review process has not been completed, on October 12, 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration announced it had authorized the marketing of three new electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The FDA issued orders to R.J. Reynolds (RJR) Vapor Company authorizing marketing for its Vuse Solo closed ENDS device and accompanying tobacco-flavored e-liquid pods. The RJR Vapor Company submitted data to the FDA that demonstrated that the marketing of these products is appropriate for the protection of public health, and the authorization allows these products to be legally sold in the U.S.
For these three products, the FDA determined that the potential benefit to smokers who switch completely or significantly reduce their cigarette use, would outweigh the risk to youth, provided the applicant follows post-marketing requirements aimed at reducing youth exposure and access to the products (e.g., regular reporting to the FDA, marketing restrictions for digital, radio and television advertising).
In Canada, the Food and Drugs Act applies to vaping products that make health claims, such as help to quit smoking.These products must be authroized under this act before they can be advertised, sold, or commercially imported. To date, no vaping products have been authorized under this Act and no applications have been received.

KEY FACTS
• Youth vaping rates doubled over a two year period (2017-2019).
• In March 2021, the 2020 Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey (CTNS) indicated that youth vaping rates had not increased from the previous survey in 2019. More data is needed to determine whether this is a trend.
• In early 2019, Health Canada launched the Consider the Consequences of Vaping prevention campaign to inform youth and parents of the risks and harms associated with vaping. To date, Health Canada has invested more than $13 million, and an additional $1 million is planned to continue the campaign this year.