Will flavoured vaping restrictions come by year’s end? Here’s what we know

Ottawa made a promise in 2021 to implement regulations to prohibit flavours, except for tobacco, mint and menthol, from being added to e-cigarettes.

The federal government says more details on restrictions on flavoured vaping products are expected “soon” — and one government source suggests that could mean within the next month.

Ottawa made a promise in 2021 to implement regulations to prohibit flavours, except for tobacco, mint and menthol, from being added to e-cigarettes.

Three years later, no such restrictions exist on a national level but the promise has remained amid a broader federal push to crack down on the sale and appeal of new forms of nicotine to youth.

In a statement to Global News when asked about the promise, a spokesperson for Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks said the commitment remains and the delay was in part due to wanting to ensure a national framework works.

“Let’s be clear: selling or giving any vaping products to somebody under 18 years old is illegal,” the spokesperson said. “But we need to do this right so we do not create loopholes that would put our youth further at risk or be hard to enforce.”

Saks’ office pointed to jurisdictions like Quebec, where it said the province’s ban on flavoured vapes led to an accessible illicit market, adding other jurisdictions’ own plans would “inform future action.”

Quebec’s ban prohibits the sale of any vape except for tobacco flavour or those that have no flavour or aroma.

Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society, said action is needed now.