No changes have been promised to the outdated tobacco law despite the unflattering internal review

OTTAWA — Federal law governing tobacco and vapor products has not kept pace with the rapidly changing menu of nicotine products on the market, prompting an anti-smoking group to lament the lack of legislative updates.

Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks quietly tabled an internal review of tobacco legislation at the end of Parliament’s spring session, just before MPs returned to their constituencies for the summer.

It found that “significant progress” has been made in addressing tobacco-related deaths and illnesses in Canada and recommended no changes to the legislation.

But the review also shows that the rate of people quitting has remained more or less the same over the past 20 years.

Meanwhile, youth vaping rates have doubled since legislation was extended to regulate vaping in 2018, and new nicotine products have hit the market.

“People who grew up smoking cigarettes continue to smoke,” said Cynthia Callard, executive director of Doctors for a Smoke-Free Canada. “Younger generations are switching from cigarettes to vaping products and are doing so in greater numbers.”

The report comes amid ongoing talks between the tobacco industry and Health Minister Mark Holland, who has vowed to prevent more Canadians from becoming addicted.

Part of the problem is that the government has continued to tinker with new nicotine products since the legislation was expanded to include vaping in 2018, said University of Waterloo professor David Hammond.

“We always end up with some kind of government that’s scrambling to get to the latest products and find that they’re being regulated through a slightly different path,” said Hammond, who studies tobacco and vaping regulations.

“We’re left with a situation where we’ve experienced an increase in nicotine uptake among young people for the first time in decades.”

The legislation is intended to allow people who smoke to switch to a less harmful habit, such as vaping, while protecting young people and non-smokers from becoming addicted.

“I’m not disputing … the government’s sincerity and efforts, but quite clearly they haven’t struck the balance,” Hammond said.

The report highlighted some potential areas for improvement, Saks’ office said in a statement Monday, and the minister’s staff plans to continue to refine their strategy accordingly.

“Based on our experience in reducing youth tobacco use, we know that comprehensive measures can have an impact on youth uptake and use of vaping products,” the minister’s office said.

An advocacy group for people who have used vaping to quit smoking, called Rights4Vapers, has launched several letter-writing campaigns in an effort to preserve access to the tool they say has best helped them quit .

The government has had similar struggles regulating newer nicotine products such as Zonnic, a pouch that users place between their gums and upper lip.

Holland promised a major crackdown on the bags, which have been approved by Health Canada to help people quit smoking but have also been used recreationally.

The pouches are subject to different rules to vapes and tobacco and the minister was given new powers in the recently passed budget bill to take them off the shelves if he deems them harmful and not being used to quit smoking .

Hammond said that ideally all nicotine products would be regulated under one coherent regime.

Vaping has proven to be a useful tool for some to quit smoking, Holland said last week when the report was filed. But he added that it’s important to make sure that’s what they’re being used for and not as “another vector for addiction.”

As for why the legislation isn’t being updated, Holland said he thinks it’s best to target the industry for now.

“If we’re going to help people, I think we need to go after the industry, really expose the tactics that they use for addicts, how they go after young people,” Holland said.

“I want to see us take all the steps we can, but we can’t take steps just for the sake of taking steps. It must be informed by evidence.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 24, 2024.

The Canadian Press