Three years after Quebec banned the sale of flavoured vapes, more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of people who vape are still using flavours covered by the restrictions.
The 77 per cent figure was highlighted by the Coalition québécoise pour le contrôle du tabac, a supporter of the ban, using new provincial statistics. Its warning puts the gap between the rules and what people actually vape back in the spotlight.
Quebec outlawed sales of vaping products with flavours other than tobacco on 31 October 2023, while unflavoured products remain permitted. The restrictions were intended to make vaping less attractive to young people.
But fruit, mint and sweet flavours remain popular, while proposals to restrict flavours across Canada have yet to become final rules.
Fruit flavours still dominate
The Institut de la statistique du Québec’s latest findings, published on 28 October, show that fruit was the flavour used most often by 63 per cent of people who had vaped in the previous 30 days.
A further 10 per cent mainly used mint or menthol, while 4.4 per cent preferred sweets or desserts. Tobacco and unflavoured liquids each accounted for 11 per cent.
Nearly a quarter of vapers also reported using a flavour enhancer.
The findings come from a survey of 17,369 people aged 15 and over, conducted between February and July 2026. That means the responses were collected ahead of the ban’s third anniversary.
Ban supporters demand action
In its 30 October statement, the Quebec tobacco control coalition blamed businesses operating both within and outside the legal market for circumventing the rules.
It called for restrictions on flavour enhancers, a licensing system for vaping businesses and stronger powers to seize products suspected of breaking the law.
The coalition also wants penalties that can be imposed more quickly, arguing that court proceedings take too long to stop non-compliant products being sold.
Its proposed response is tighter enforcement. However, the vaping industry argues that removing popular flavours from legal shops pushes demand towards illicit suppliers.
Sam Tam, president of the Canadian Vaping Association, challenged the case for further bans in an October statement.
“Rather than pushing for more bans, shouldn't we be evaluating what's working and building on those successes?,” he said.
The association, which represents vaping businesses, called for retailer licensing, stronger age checks for online purchases and penalties for selling to children.
Federal restrictions remain unfinished
Meanwhile, Health Canada’s 2026 to 2028 regulatory plan still lists nationwide flavour restrictions as unfinished business.
The proposals were first published for consultation on 19 June 2021. They would restrict flavours to tobacco, mint and menthol, alongside controls on sweeteners, ingredients and the sensory characteristics of products.
Health Canada says the aim is to reduce vaping’s appeal to young people. But more than five years after publication of the proposals, the timetable for final rules remains “to be determined”.
What the evidence says
The debate comes as evidence continues to support nicotine vapes as a way to stop smoking.
An updated Cochrane review, published on 26 August, found high-certainty evidence that nicotine vapes help more people quit than nicotine replacement therapies such as patches and gum.
The researchers estimated around four additional quitters for every 100 people using nicotine vapes instead of those treatments.
Senior author Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, described them as “a proven and viable option for people wishing to quit traditional cigarettes”.