Alberta plans to bring vaping restrictions more in line with tobacco laws, a move that could save the health care system $6 billion over the next four years.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Alberta government introduced Bill 19, The Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Amendment Act, which is aimed at reducing the health harms of vaping and smoking. St. Albert's two local school boards have been advocating for regulations to vaping.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said the bill, if passed, will further prevent and reduce the health harms of tobacco products and address the alarming rise in the use of vaping products.
“For too long, Alberta has been the only province without provincial vaping legislation to govern the promotion, to govern the display and the sale, the possession or consumption of vaping products. As a result there have been those who felt at ease purchasing and supplying these products for minors,” Shandro said.
“We also heard the concerns of many educators and parents about the use of vaping products in public spaces, especially around schools and around playgrounds. The proposed legislation would for the first time prohibit the use of vape in places where children and youth are often present.”
The bill introduced Tuesday will bring regulations on vaping displays, advertisements and promotions in line with tobacco restriction in convenience stores and gas stations, preventing vaping products from being visible or available for handling before purchasing. In-store advertising and promotion in these locations will not be permitted. Adult-only specialty vape stores will be exempt from the display rules.
Shandro said the move aims to reduce youth interest in vaping products.
Vaping will also be prohibited in areas where smoking in currently prohibited and smoke and vape-free areas will be expanded to include hospitals, schools, childcare properties, playgrounds, sports or playing fields, skateboard or bike parks, zoos, outdoor theatres, public outdoor pools and splash pads.
The new legislation wouldn’t ban flavoured vaping products but it does give the government the power to ban it in the future.
“The legislation does enable down the road for the ministry to develop regulations to deal with flavors, and that's something we will continue to look into,’ Shandro said.
In November, the St. Albert Public, Greater St. Albert Catholic and Red Deer Public school boards teamed up to put forward a joint resolution at the annual general meeting for the Alberta School Boards Association to encourage a ban on vaping advertising to youth. Their resolution was the only motion that passed with no amendments and with 100 per cent support from school boards across the province.
Greater St. Albert Catholic board chair Joe Becigneul and Cheryl Dumont, trustee for St. Albert Public, called the resolution a success in November.
The joint motion approved by the 61 school boards across the province called on the province’s health and education ministers to conduct and share research on the health impacts of vaping, and calls on all levels of government to ban the advertisement, promotion and accessibility of vaping products to youth.The legislation introduced Tuesday does not include a limit on the amount of nicotine in the products, Shandro said, as the federal government already has a cap on nicotine levels, although in the future the province would be able to reduce the cap if they determine it to be appropriate.
Fines and penalties could be applied to anyone smoking in prohibited areas, any minor possessing, purchasing and consuming vaping products, retail violations or selling or lending products to minors.
The fines for youth align with current tobacco fines at $100. The fines for the advertising and promotion of tobacco products or giving vaping products to minors is around $500.
If passed, the bill would come into effect this fall.
In Alberta, teen vaping rates (the amount of teens who have vaped in the past 30 days) have surged from eight per cent in 2014-15 to 30 per cent in 2018-29 among students in grades 10 to 12.
The bill is a result of a review of Alberta’s Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act that took place in the fall of 2019. Around 250 people from diverse interest groups were engaged from October to December 2019 through 41 consultation sessions in six cities across Alberta and more than 9,500 individuals responded to an online survey.
A University of Waterloo study released in 2018 found vaping rates amongst Canadians aged 16 to 19 rose 74 per cent between 2017 and 2018 (from 8.4 per cent to 14.6), and cigarette smoking amongst youths had increased for the first time since 2008.
Jennifer Henderson covers rural Alberta matters under the Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the Government of Canada.
