Manitoba moves to crack down on e-cigarettes

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This article was published 02/06/2015 (3957 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Selinger government has introduced legislation to regulate electronic cigarettes in much the same way it does tobacco.

Healthy Living Minister Deanne Crothers said Monday the primary goal is to protect children from a product the government admits it doesn’t fully understand.

“I think we want to be cautious because we don’t know exactly what the implications are,” Crothers said after introducing Bill 30 (Non-smokers Health Protection Amendment Act) in the legislature. “There’s not enough research done on it at this point.”

The bill prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to children, restricts advertising and promotion and prohibits use in most indoor public places.

However, the proposed legislation would allow customers to test products at specialty shops where vapour products are the predominant items sold.

E-cigarettes would be allowed in designated rooms in group living facilities and hotels, similar to the present smoking exceptions. Adult-only establishments such as bars and casinos could also be exempt from the indoor ban.

Crothers said the legislation could be in effect sometime this fall.

Manitobans will have the opportunity to tell her where they feel the product should be used — or prohibited — when the bill reaches the public hearings stage. Hearing dates have yet to be set.

An e-cigarette is essentially a battery-operated (rechargeable) plastic or metal tube to vaporize a flavoured nicotine-containing solution or “juice” so the user can inhale it, delivering a dose of nicotine without the actual smoke of a cigarette. The “smoke” that is released is water vapour.

Health Canada has not moved to regulate e-cigarettes, sparking new or proposed rules in several provinces.

Crothers said the government is aware some Manitobans have successfully used e-cigarettes to quit smoking.

“That does not mean I’m suggesting everyone should go out and ‘vape,’ ” she said. “(But) we don’t want to create barriers for that because obviously it’s great news if people aren’t using tobacco.”

‘I think we want to be cautious because we don’t know exactly what the implications are’

Last year, Manitoba passed a bill banning flavoured tobacco, although it has yet to proclaim the legislation. Crothers couldn’t say Monday when that would happen.

She said the province has no plans to follow Alberta’s lead in banning menthol tobacco. She said Manitoba is waiting to see what action Ottawa is prepared to take with respect to these products.

The Manitoba Tobacco Reduction Alliance said it is pleased the government plans to regulate e-cigarettes. “These new measures would protect youth from nicotine addiction and the possible dangers of e-cigarette vapour and would curb the growing use of e-cigarettes by non-smokers,” the group said in a statement.

Manitoba’s Opposition said it supports the bill on first blush, but it hasn’t had an opportunity to study it.

“We’re certainly not opposed to it if it’s going to alleviate any health risk, but the devil is in the details,” Emerson MLA Cliff Graydon said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca