Quebec to pull the plug on flavoured products in effort to curb vaping by minors

Vaping products that contain flavours or aromas other than tobacco could soon be banned in Quebec under new rules proposed by the government Wednesday. 

The Quebec government hopes the change to the provincial regulations will make vaping products less attractive to minors. 

"We're not eliminating vaping, but we're eliminating flavours," Health Minister Christian Dubé told Radio-Canada in an interview. "There will only be the taste of nicotine and all other flavours will be prohibited."

The minister responsible for sports, Isabelle Charest, said the changes are about keeping "extremely harmful" products out of the reach of minors. 

"They start to vape because they find it fun or attractive to have a vape pen that tastes like strawberries," she said, adding that sweet-flavoured products make up 90 per cent of what minors vape, with only the remaining 10 per cent choosing tobacco-flavoured products.

The draft regulations also include proposals to limit the maximum nicotine concentration in vaping products to 20 milligrams per millilitre, restricting vaping tank and capsule capacity to two millilitres and limiting the maximum volume refill capacity of liquid cartridges to 30 millilitres. 

Vaping products will be prohibited from resembling toys, food or taking other forms that might be attractive to minors. 

But the health minister acknowledged the difficulty in stopping the sale of vaping products online.

"We know there will be contraband," Dubé told reporters later today. "We know young people might get some [vaping products] online. We are aware of that, but in the same way we have limited flavours for cigarettes and cannabis, we say, 'it's not legal, don't do it.'"

The ministry also acknowledges the new rules will likely mean job losses and a drop in sales for companies primarily selling vaping products.

Health Canada proposed a ban on flavoured vaping products in 2021, citing research indicating that flavoured vaping products are "highly appealing to youth, and that youth are especially susceptible to the negative effects of nicotine – including altered brain development, which can cause challenges with memory and concentration." 

The proposed ban still hasn't been put into effect.

Several provinces and territories have put in place their own limits on flavoured vaping products, citing their appeal to teenagers.

The Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control welcomes the new measures proposed in the province.