Press release
The coalition is running high-profile ads in downtown Calgary and at the YYC airport, revealing that over 24,000 youth have started using nicotine vaping products since federal health minister Marjorie Michel took office last spring. The ads are aimed at all the health ministers and their delegations (see ad copy below).
“Over 24,000 youth have started using nicotine vaping products in the last few months since the Minister took office,” said Les Hagen of ASH Canada. “This translates into over 50,000 new youth users annually, which is 50,000 too many. The federal Health Minister needs to respond quickly if she is truly committed to improving public health and protecting youth from tobacco and nicotine companies. We know that the provincial and territorial health ministers agree, and they need to remind her of this urgency during their discussions”.
“The federal government has delayed the approval of regulations to ban flavoured vaping products for over four years,” said Flory Doucas of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control. “We urge Minister Michel to take immediate action, and we encourage her provincial and territorial counterparts to support these efforts. A strong national consensus will pave the way for strong national protection and make it much harder for industry to target kids with appealing flavours that trivialize nicotine addiction”.
Besides the numerous countries that have banned recreational vaping products altogether, a growing number have at least banned flavours other than tobacco, such as Finland in 2016, Lithuania in 2022, Hungary and Ukraine in 2023, the Netherlands and Slovenia in 2024 and Latvia in 2025. Closer to home, the states of California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington, DC have also banned flavours. In Canada, four provinces and two territories have banned flavoured vaping products. However, the provincial bans are largely being undermined by illegal shipments and online sales from other provinces.
“Federal restrictions on vaping flavours would make it much harder for retailers to offer these enticing, addictive products and would provide effective protection for all Canadian youth”, said Cynthia Callard of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. “The federal government can control borders and oversee international shipments and trade restrictions, and such measures would facilitate enforcement and curb illegal shipments at the source. The lack of federal action is allowing the industry to undermine provincial measures”.
“Just as there is a federal ban on interprovincial sales of cigarettes, a federal flavour ban on vaping products should be accompanied by a ban on online sales, as this would further reduce youth access to vaping products,” added Doucas. “It’s far too easy for youth to order vaping products online and avoid age detection. A ban on online sales will protect more youth from nicotine addiction and potential tobacco use”.
A recent “umbrella review” of published peer-reviewed health studies revealed that youth who use nicotine vaping products are three times as likely to start smoking. Tobacco and vaping products share the same fundamental health hazard—nicotine addiction. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances in existence.
“There is no benefit to be derived from 50,000 new youth nicotine users annually”, said Hagen. “Nicotine is a harmful and addictive substance that can lead to tobacco dependency and all its associated health risks. Tobacco is the leading avoidable cause of premature death in Canada, claiming the lives of 46,000 Canadians annually.
“As part of their upcoming two days of discussions, provincial health ministers should call on the federal Minister to strengthen and implement without further delays the vaping flavour additive restrictions that Ottawa originally announced in 2021,” concludes Callard.
The federal government has committed to reducing tobacco use to less than 5% by 2035. About 3.6 million Canadians continue to smoke tobacco products, representing 12% of all people aged 15 and over, according to the 2024 Canadian Community Health Survey. Over 300,000 youth aged 12-17 vaped in the past 30 days in 2024 according to the Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth.