MPP Gélinas reintroduces bill to protect children from harms of vaping

QUEEN’S PARK — NDP Health Critic France Gélinas and health promotion advocates met in the Queen’s Park media studio this morning to discuss the reintroduction of the Bill: “Vaping is not for Kids.”

"Studies are showing that more and more youths are taking up vaping in high school," said MPP Gélinas. "A recent study from Western University had the alarming findings that over a quarter of high school aged kids in Canada vape. These kids are at risk of developing nicotine addictions and having long-term harm done to their lungs. The government is failing to protect our kids and is leaving Ontario's youth in a position of possible lasting damage to their health."

On April 19th 2023, Quebec announced that it will be banning flavoured vaping product sales. Quebec's new vaping regulations also limit sales of vaping products geared towards youth with animal, characters, food and toy shapes.

"Research is showing that vaping is not harmless. It can lead to permanent lung damage in our kids. Other jurisdictions are acting. Why is it that Ontario is abandoning kids to the predatory vaping industry and leaving the next generation with preventable lung damage and nicotine addictions?" asked MPP Gélinas.

Gélinas’ bill sets up firm obligations on the Ministry of Health to prevent Ontario youth from picking up vaping and becoming addicted to nicotine. The NDP’s bill: Vaping is not for Kids, would prohibit the promotion of vaping products, restrict sales to specialty shops, bump the minimal legal age to 21, require Ontario Health to prepare an annual report on vaping usage and its health effects and set tax money aside for research and health promotion. This bill would also ban online sales of vaping products.

"These measures would protect our youth from these risks to their health. Without action, our kids are vulnerable to consuming these products without knowing the harmful effects. Parents, families, schools are worried, yet the government is not helping. A quarter of high school kids are vaping, this is far too many, and it is time for Ontario to support and protect our kids" said Gélinas.

Quotes:

Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst for the Canadian Cancer Society

“We applaud the new measures in the bill to respond to the high rates of youth vaping in Ontario. The bill will help protect youth by banning flavours in e-cigarettes as Quebec has recently announced; setting a minimum age of 21 for tobacco and e-cigarettes as P.E.I. and at least 30 U.S. states have done; and limiting e-cigarette sales to specialty vape stores only, as Ontario and other provinces have done for cannabis. We have made significant progress at reducing youth smoking, but now a new generation of youth is becoming addicted to nicotine, something that we absolutely must prevent.”

Dr. Atul Kapur, Executive Director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada

“It took decades for us to learn the health effects of smoking. We are now at the same early stages with vaping. If we are going to learn the lessons from smoking, we need to be more cautious in how we allow these products to be marketed. With all-party support, four Canadian provinces and one territory have already put comprehensive flavour restrictions in place. We would hope and expect similar all-party support for this bill, too. Our enormous gratitude goes to Ms. Gélinas and her team for the continued championing of this important file.”

Jess Rogers, Vice President of Programs, Research and Public Affairs at the Lung Health Foundation

“The Lung Health Foundation remains concerned about the high rates of youth vaping in Ontario. The research available demonstrates that vaping can be harmful to the lungs in many different ways and inhaling the toxic chemicals found in e-liquids can potentially cause long-term, irreversible damage to the lungs of our youth. We are in favor of working collectively and across party lines to implement regulations with the goal of reducing the prevalence of youth vaping in Ontario and continuing to raise awareness about the lung health risks associated with vaping.” 

Bernie Robinson, RN, Interim President of the Ontario Nurses’ Association

"The health protection of Ontarians is a priority for nurses, and introducing further limits and controls on vaping is an important step forward.”

Dr. Lesley James, Director of Health Policy and Systems at Heart & Stroke

“Youth vaping in Ontario has become a crisis with a new generation of young people addicted to nicotine. In Ontario, vaping rates among young people are almost four times greater than among adults.  Immediate action is needed to protect youth from the harmful impacts of vaping including threats to brain development and mental well-being, as well as increased risk for respiratory and cardiovascular issues. Heart & Stroke strongly supports the measures outlined in this bill and encourages the adoption of policies to restrict youth access to vapes through retail reform and pricing levers. More than 50 jurisdictions around the world have adopted a vape tax to reduce youth vape use. It is time to act and protect our youth in Ontario by implementing a variety of strong policy measures.”

John Atkinson, Executive Director, Ontario Public Health Association

“We are concerned with the significant number of Ontario youth and young adults who are using e-cigarettes and the potential harms to their health; not to mention a new generation addicted to nicotine. While we wish to continue to see strategies put in place to decrease tobacco use in Ontario, we also need to protect our young people from e-cigarette use. OPHA is pleased to support MPP Gélinas’ bill which will help to stem the tide of youth e-cigarette use in Ontario. Banning flavours aimed at youth, increasing the legal age for purchase, and limiting sales to specialty outlets are robust measures that will protect the health of our youth.”

Sarah Butson, Public Affairs and Policy Analyst, Canadian Lung Association

“We have come a long way in protecting young people from the harms of commercial tobacco use and we know the policy levers that work. Yet, we are watching a new generation of young people become addicted to nicotine. It’s time to implement important measures that we know work, such as the measures introduced in today’s bill. The long-term safety of these products remains unknown but the short term impacts, particularly on lung health are becoming well documented. We know that these products emit toxic substances, lead to dependence, and that some ingredients can worsen or cause lung disease and lung damage. We must do more to protect lung health of young people in Ontario.”