Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) to Challenge Edmonton Police Service Enforcement Action Plan
EDMONTON, July 9, 2019 /CNW/ - Last week Edmonton Police Service (EPS) held a press conference to share their plan to address a purported rise in youth vaping. According to the EPS the cause of youth vaping is not the absence of legislation to prevent youth from vaping but the absence of adequate enforcement.
The EPS move to action is based on an understanding of the Alberta Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act that is completely at odds with the industry and the City of Edmonton's interpretation of the Act, as well as federal vaping regulations, threatening not only to undermine existing business operations but also the potential for vaping products to positively impact public health.
In their first step to close the alleged gap in enforcement, EPS issued a warning letter to vape product retailers which outlined their interpretation of the Act and listed stiff penalties for non-compliance. Vape retailers that sell to minors are an obvious target for greater enforcement action, but the EPS went further to stipulate that those selling flavoured vape products were also in violation of the Act.
According to the EPS letter, the "nicotine located in e-cigarettes and vape juice is considered a tobacco product." which effectively renders the sale, display and promotion of flavoured vaping products illegal in the same way tobacco products are prohibited from being displayed, advertised or promoted and flavoured tobacco products are not allowed to be sold.
"The placement of vaping products into the same category as tobacco is a puzzling move given that the Alberta Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act makes no specific reference to vaping," said Shawn Kreger, former president and current board member of the CVA and owner of Edmonton based River City Vapes which operates 3 specialty vape shops and production facility since 2013. "In fact, public health campaigners and the City of Edmonton have been lobbying for provincial legislation because they argue that federal legislation which restricts the promotion and advertising of vaping to reduce the appeal of these products to youth does not go far enough."
EPS is stretching the definition of "tobacco products" contained within the provincial act to also include vaping products on the premise that they contain nicotine extracted from tobacco.
"As a result, tobacco and vaping get lumped into the same category, and since flavoured tobacco is prohibited so are flavoured vaping products," said Kreger. "It appears that their preferred strategy to get flavoured vaping products out of the hands of youth is to simply get rid of the products altogether."
This interpretation and any action taken on its behalf fatally undercut the intention of federal vaping regulations which clearly demarcate vaping from smoking based on their harm reduction potential. The prohibition of the sale of flavoured vaping products would limit accessibility of these products to adult smokers who may be want or use them as a way to quit smoking, consequently driving them to the illicit market.
It is not clear at this point whether Alberta Health condones the action of the police service and is aligned in their interpretation of the Act, according to Kreger. The CVA plan to challenge the EPS action.
"As a vape shop owner and anti-smoking activist I am dually and deeply affected by these efforts and am seeking clarity," said Kreger. "Before we jump to solutions and start doling out punishment on well-intentioned small business owners, we need to have a clear and shared understanding of the legal parameters and the problems they aim to address."
The Canadian Vaping Association is a registered national, not-for-profit organization, established as the voice for the burgeoning Canadian vaping industry. Founded in 2014, the CVA represents over 200 retail and online vaping businesses in Canada. The association is the primary liaison with the federal and provincial governments on all legislative and regulatory issues related to the industry. The primary goal of CVA is to ensure that government regulation is reasonable and practical, through the strategy of professional proactive communication and education supplied bilingually to health officers, media, and elected officials.
SOURCE Vapour Advocates of Canada
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