On Friday, Health Canada released the Canada Gazette 1, Volume 155, No. 25. In it, they propose to ban all but 40 chemical compounds in e-liquids. This very narrow range of compounds can be used to create tobacco, mint, or menthol flavours in e-liquids. No sweeteners will be allowed.
This is a considerably more narrow range than many people had predicted. If implemented, it would wipe out the e-liquid category in Canada. Only a few of the bigger players will be able to absorb the financial blow of prohibition and dedicate the research to developing palate-friendly flavours from the 40 allowable compounds. Among vape shops, it’s difficult to say how many will survive. The cost of ever-changing legislation and reduced offerings, on top of the challenges during the Covid pandemic, has many worried that they won’t.
Flavour is one of the biggest draws of vaping. They are the reason why so many of us found ourselves “accidentally quitting” smoking. We were attracted by the flavours more than a desire to quit smoking. Discovering a better (and considerably safer) product than cigarettes was an accident made possible because of flavours.
Health Canada acknowledges that this will result in fewer people even trying vaping. They also acknowledge that some people who have quit smoking with vaping will go back to smoking. They acknowledge this alongside the 48,000 deaths they claim smoking will have caused this year. They accept that some of the market will go underground and that this will create safety issues. They accept that more of us will die.
All of those are concrete statements. And what do they intend to get in return for our deaths? They hope that fewer young people will vape on the chance that it leads to smoking one day.
The illogic of eliminating the safer option to smoking seems to have escaped them, or they believe that no one ever uses nicotine for legitimate reasons. People will continue to experiment with and take up nicotine, just as they do caffeine, or alcohol, or a myriad of other pleasure-centred drugs. They simply won’t have the same safer options that they do now. Young or old.
Respond to the Gazette directly. Tell Health Canada that you are against restricting flavours. You don’t have to write much but you should respond while there’s still the chance. Avoid offering compromises. We got here one loss at a time. Present your case for preserving flavours and leave it at that.
Contact your MP directly and tell them in your own words why this is a bad idea and why you are against it. The website ReduceTheHarm is set up to help you, or you can contact your representative directly through their constituent office.
There is also a petition to “Save Our Flavours” that you can find here.
Rights4Vapers keeps you up-to-date on news and calls to action. You can sign up to their newsletter on their website as well as find links to the current petition, the Between 2 Vapes series and more.
Use your social media accounts to draw attention to the issue. Twitter and Facebook are good platforms to share your message and you’ll find lots of friends and allies in the vape community.
Find your defenders: legislation like this can’t continue to pass without support or apathy from the public. Many of these people are our family and friends. Talk to them. Tell them the importance of their support for you. They don’t have to wholeheartedly agree with this, or any, of your life choices but it is critical that they can be counted on to be an ally. Tell them. And ask them to write to their MP and sign the petition.
This is going to be the fight for our lives! We need everybody out there. The comment period is only 75 days and the clock started Saturday June 19th. Let’s get out there and fight!
