Canada to Lift Flavor Ban on E-Cigarettes After 3 Years

According to a report by Vaping360 on April 11th, Canada will lift the 3-year-old ban on flavored e-cigarettes. The ban was initially approved by the government in June 2021 but has been dormant ever since.

According to the regulation, Health Canada will provide manufacturers with a list of up to 100 permitted flavoring ingredients and mandate that only these ingredients can be used to make e-liquid, but only for tobacco, menthol, and mint flavors.

At the same time, the use of any type of sweeteners is strictly prohibited. The agency stated in 2021 that an estimated 80-85% of existing products will need to be reformulated to meet the new requirements. Additionally, the regulation will specify "sensory attribute standards to prevent sensations other than those typical of tobacco or mint/menthol from being perceived." In other words, manufacturers will not be able to add caramel to tobacco flavors, or fruit flavors to mint flavors.

Five provinces in Canada have already banned flavored e-cigarettes. Quebec has been enforcing the ban since last October, while New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, and Prince Edward Island have implemented similar regulations. Nunavut has also passed the ban, but has not yet set a specific implementation date. However, despite these flavor bans being in place, over 70% of Canadians can still purchase flavored e-cigarettes.

Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland is vigorously pushing to lift the long-standing ban, with support from the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Lung Association, and some smaller anti-tobacco non-governmental organizations.

During a recent press conference, Holland stated: "I have previously collaborated with the Heart and Stroke Foundation to address the issue of e-cigarettes. At that time, when the information was uncertain, they advised that e-cigarettes be seen as a smoking cessation tool rather than taking action. Unfortunately, this led to the tobacco industry attracting a group of young people who had never been exposed to nicotine to something that threatens their health. This has had extremely adverse consequences for our healthcare system." Canadian e-cigarette consumers have expressed that the ban will have a destructive impact on the legal consumption of e-cigarettes and will cause irreversible harm to the independent e-cigarette industry. Canada has around 1.8 million e-cigarette users, with the majority preferring flavors that are not permitted by the health department. The proposed regulations will force many people to return to smoking and create a vibrant disposable e-cigarette "black market.