Ontario’s New E-Cigarettes and Vaping Law – Part 2
Bill 45, Making Healthier Choices Act, 2015: E-Cigarettes and Vaping - Part 2
I would like to continue on with my discussion about e-cigarettes and vaping. You can find my previous post here.
In that post I discussed the concerns presented by section 3 of the proposed Bill under the heading display and promotion.
In this post, I would like to focus on section 8 that bans flavored electronic cigarettes.
No person shall sell or offer to sell a flavoured electronic cigarette that has been prescribed as prohibited at retail or for subsequent sale at retail or distribute or offer to distribute it for that purpose.
Again, this provision demonstrates the government’s lack of understanding of what e-cigarettes are.
The government defines an electronic cigarette as follows:
A vaporizer or inhalant-type device, whether called an electronic cigarette or any other name, that contains a power source and heating element designed to heat a substance and produce a vapour intended to be inhaled by the user of the device directly through the mouth, whether or not the vapour contains nicotine.
The reference to heat a substance is where the issues arises. Anyone that vapes or has reviewed the industry will understand that the substance in question is commonly referred to as e-juice and or e-liquid. The Act proposes no ban on the substance but instead on the actual device being a vaporizer and or inhalant type device, whether it’s called an electronic cigarette and that has a power source and heat.
Section 8 imposes a ban on flavored electronic cigarettes but what about the actual substance?
Walk into a gas station and you can purchase a real flavored electronic cigarette. Many of these are disposable. I would suggest, that yes this would fall into the category of a prohibited device as per the definition of an electronic cigarette and further it being flavored.
However, can a merchant who has been found to be in violation of section 8 by merely selling the e-juice or substance mount a defence that the provision does not apply?
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