Health Canada has launched its third legislative review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA), which is the perfect opportunity to rethink the country’s failing approach to nicotine regulation.
The goal of the TVPA is to curb tobacco use and protect youth from nicotine addiction, but this approach is not working. The percentage of Canadians still smoking cigarettes was 11.4 per cent in 2023. The rate is declining slowly, far behind Sweden, which is at five per cent as a result of embracing harm reduction tools like snus and nicotine pouches, shown to be 95 per cent and 99 per cent less harmful than cigarettes, respectively. Rather than increase taxes on or outright prohibit harm reduction tools, Health Canada should be suggesting amendments to the TVPA to encourage their use.
The TVPA, originally enacted in 1997 as the Tobacco Act and expanded in 2018 to include vaping, has aimed to curb tobacco use and protect youth from nicotine addiction. It is unclear how this will be achieved given its tendency to stifle harm reduction strategies that could save lives.
The Government of Canada itself has officially stated that “switching completely to vaping nicotine is less harmful than continuing to smoke.” However, vaping is included in the TVPA as if it is just as bad as smoking. Public Health England has stated that vaping is at least 95 per cent less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Vaping is also less harmful in terms of secondhand smoke, since the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) has stated that there is no evidence that vaping is harmful to those around someone who is vaping.
The obvious solution is for Health Canada to allow manufacturers to include comparative risk statements like “switching to vaping is 95 per cent less harmful to your health than smoking” so that consumers can make smart health choices. Health Canada’s inspections of gas stations and convenience stores found that they are complying at a rate of 97 per cent, which shows that retailers can be trusted to sell items with comparative risk labels responsibly.
In terms of harm reduction, vaping is not the only proven tool that has been shown to help consumers quit smoking: flavoured items are also under prohibitionist attack by the TVPA. Research shows that flavoured products increase adult smoking cessation success rates by an astonishing 230 per cent.
Health Canada should also allow nicotine pouches to be available for sale in convenience stores since they are free of tobacco and don’t involve burning, which makes them much less harmful than smoking. Research shows they have fewer harmful chemicals than cigarettes or traditional snus, leading to lower chances of cancer and breathing problems, and again, are 99 per cent less harmful compared to cigarettes. Pouches were once allowed to be sold in convenience stores and gas stations, until former health minister Mark Holland decided they were only to be sold behind the counter at pharmacies in 2024. Tobacco is what causes cancer, not nicotine, so stopping people from accessing these harm reduction tools more conveniently is irresponsible.
A main focus of the TVPA is the ever-expanding black market of cigarettes. This inevitably leads to organized crime, which is reflective of what has guided policymakers to make this part of the act. However, nowhere in the review does it mention the possibility of the most obvious solution: making legal, less harmful harm reduction tools more affordable by taxing them less.
High taxes and bans drive consumers underground, which ends up plaguing provinces like Ontario and British Columbia, with studies estimating 30 to 50 per cent of market share from illegal sources in some areas. Rather than make it more desirable to buy legally, both federal and provincial taxes have been climbing since 2022. Currently, a 30-millilitre bottle of vape fluid in Ontario could have a total excise duty of over $15 including federal and provincial taxes, while a pack of cigarettes might incur a duty of around $16.
Like many government initiatives and programs, the TVPA misses the mark and refuses to accept obvious solutions to a serious problem. If the goal is to help people quit smoking, then the way they are operating simply is not working.
As Health Canada takes on its current review of the TVPA, policymakers must heed the data: embrace harm reduction, allow truth-telling, tax wisely and curb contraband. Anything less would be irresponsible in terms of public health. The Consumer Choice Center recently submitted comments to the government consultation to this effect, and we can only hope for the sake of smokers that officials listen.
Originally published here
