Meeting between Minister Saks and Rights 4 Vapers – May 23, 2024

Subject(s)

The proposed Order Amending Schedules 2 and 3 to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (Flavours)

Date

May 23, 2024

Participants

Minister's Office

• The Honourable Ya'ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health
• Fara Shah, Director of Policy
• Julia Duncan, Senior Policy Advisor

Health Canada (HC)

• Kendal Weber, Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch

Rights 4 Vapers (R4V)

• Maria Papaioannoy, Spokesperson
• KP Proulx

Introduction

A meeting was held at the request of Rights 4 Vapers to discuss the proposed Order Amending Schedules 2 and 3 to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (Flavours).

The Minister started the meeting with introductions.

The Minister read the transparency and disclosure statement. She reminded participants that this meeting is subject to disclosure as per HC's Openness and Transparency policies. The handling of information and privacy notice was outlined and acknowledged. The Minister also referred to Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), its international obligation to protect tobacco control policies from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. It was acknowledged R4V by participants.

Subjects

R4V covered the following topics in the meeting:

• Harm reduction;
• Stigma reduction; and
• Illegal sales.

R4V asked what has changed in recent years that would drive the government to advance the proposed regulations to ban flavours. They noted that 25,000 Canadians expressed opposition to the regulations when they were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, and more recently, 35,000 Canadians voiced opposition to the regulations proceeding to the Canada Gazette, Part II. They indicated that science supports harm reduction and referenced Cochrane studies.

R4V stressed the importance of engaging with persons with lived experience. They stressed that persons with lived experience are not second class citizens. They shared their lived experience and the benefits of harm reduction from vaping. They indicated they want to be at the same tables as non-governmental organizations.

Finally, R4V noted that competition from the illegal market is significant. They indicated that banning flavours might have worked decades ago but now youth can access illegal products online from around the world. They stressed that actions have consequences and a ban will result in illegal sales and harmful unregulated products.

Conclusion

The meeting was then concluded.

Documents

• Agenda as provided by R4V