{"id":27225,"date":"2025-10-14T09:23:53","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T09:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=27225"},"modified":"2025-10-14T09:23:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T09:23:58","slug":"canadian-province-targets-vape-companies-with-new-cost-recovery-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/canadian-province-targets-vape-companies-with-new-cost-recovery-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian province targets vape companies with new cost recovery law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

British Columbia has become the first province in Canada to table legislation that would allow it to recover healthcare costs from vape companies accused of misleading the public.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attorney General Niki Sharma announced the move in Victoria last week, describing it as a response to \u201cdeceptive practices\u201d used by parts of the vape industry to boost profits while targeting young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharma said the proposed law is modelled after legislation that helped the province win landmark lawsuits against tobacco and opioid manufacturers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome vaping companies have engaged in deceptive practices to boost their profits,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s always better when companies don\u2019t do these kinds of things, when they don\u2019t target people with deceptive practices about their products.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First province to take tobacco companies to court<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

British Columbia was the first province to take tobacco companies to court, and Sharma says that experience is paying off. The government recently secured $3.6 (\u20ac3.1) billion over 18 years as part of a national $32.5 (\u20ac28.1) billion tobacco settlement, and it\u2019s ready for another fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are getting better, and we are winning,\u201d Sharma said. \u201cSo, this sets us up for being able to take on these companies in court.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Sharma could not estimate how much the province might recover from a vaping lawsuit, she said any future proceeds would go into general revenue, not directly to health care. \u201cIt\u2019s all one pot of money that we use to provide services to British Columbia, and our health care has been growing over time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wider push to curb youth vaping<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The new legislation is part of a wider push to curb youth vaping, which Sharma claimed could undo years of progress in reducing smoking rates – though evidence shows smoking continues to fall as vaping rises<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that vaping has been.. linked to an increase in respiratory illnesses, increases in long-term addictions, increase in other things like mental health issues and different impacts, especially on young people,\u201d she said. \u201cWe risk losing a whole new generation to nicotine addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education Minister Lisa Beare added that the province\u2019s schools are already working to \u201chelp young people understand the risks of vaping and to make educated choices,\u201d describing the new law as another piece of that prevention strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA), which represents the industry, did not immediately respond to the announcement but has long argued for \u201csensible regulations that balance adult harm reduction with youth protection and education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a May 30 statement, the association said \u201cvaping remains one of the most effective harm reduction tools available,\u201d noting that 1.9 million adults vape in Canada. CVA president Sam Tam has said the group shares Health Canada\u2019s goal of reducing smoking rates to less than five per cent by 2035.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harm reduction advocates warn that equating vaping with smoking risks ignoring its proven benefits for adult smokers. Health Canada acknowledges that vaping can help people quit smoking, stating that switching completely to vaping is less harmful than continuing to smoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicotine pouches banned<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The B.C. legislation comes amid a broader national clampdown on nicotine products. In August 2024, Canada banned the sale of nicotine pouches<\/a> outside of pharmacies, limiting access to adults who consult a pharmacist before purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new federal rules also impose strict advertising limits and prohibit fruity or sweet flavours, with only mint and tobacco versions remaining available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health Minister Mark Holland defended the move, saying: \u201cThese nonsense flavours targeting our kids are gone. Tropical Breeze and Cool Berry Splash, whatever they have, it\u2019s over. Those products will be recalled and unavailable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics argue the change could make it harder for smokers to access lower-risk nicotine options designed to help them quit. The pouches, designed as smoking cessation aids, deliver controlled doses of nicotine and were only approved in Canada last year under the Food and Drugs Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flavour ban still on hold<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Canada\u2019s long-debated national vape flavour ban remains stalled<\/a>. Initially announced in 2021, it would have outlawed all flavours except mint, menthol and tobacco. However, it was delayed after reports of a blackmarket surge in provinces that introduced their own bans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harm reduction experts say removing flavours and restricting access could push adult vapers back to cigarettes. The CVA has urged the government to focus on enforcement and education instead of bans, arguing that \u201cvaping remains one of the most effective harm reduction tools available.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

British Columbia has become the first province in Canada to table legislation that would allow it to recover healthcare costs from vape companies accused of misleading the public. Attorney General Niki Sharma announced the move in Victoria last week, describing it as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990005,"featured_media":27226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[338,186],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-27225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-canada","tag-nicotine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990005"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27225"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27233,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27225\/revisions\/27233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27225"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=27225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}