Health Canada and Canadian Vaping Association meeting: Illegal Market and Vaping Industry Compliance – September 23, 2024

Subject:

Quarterly Canadian Vaping Association updates, Illicit Market Review and Enforcement

Date:

September 23, 2024

Participants:

Health Canada (HC)

• Tim Appleby (Chair)
  • Director, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning (OPSP) Tobacco Control Directorate (TCD), Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch (CSCB)
• Sally Gibbs
  • Acting Director General, Consumer Products and Controlled Substances Directorate (CPCSD), Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch (ROEB)
• Cecilia Van Egmond
  • Director, Tobacco Products Regulatory Office (TPRO), TCD, CSCB
• Senior Manager, Tobacco and Vaping Compliance and Enforcement, ROEB
• Senior Manager, Tobacco and Vaping Compliance and Enforcement, ROEB
• Unit Manager, ROEB
• Manager, International and Regulatory Policy Unit, OPSP, TCD, CSCB
• Acting Manager, Vaping Regulations, TPRO, TCD, CSCB
• Scientific Evaluator, Office of Compliance for Tobacco and Vaping Products, TCD, CSCB
• Junior Policy Analyst, International and Regulatory Policy Unit, OPSP, TCD, CSCB (Secretariat)

Canadian Vaping Association (CVA)

• Sam Tam, President
• Christina Pan, Vice President/180 Smoke
• Daniel David, Director/illicit Market Chair/Government Relations Chair
• Jason Flynn, Treasurer/Vape Escapes

Introduction:

A meeting was held at the request of the CVA to discuss quarterly CVA updates, the illegal market review and to propose enforcement measures.

The Chair opened the meeting with round table introductions.

The Chair reminded participants that this meeting is subject to disclosure as per HC's Openness and Transparency policies. In the interest of transparency, the Department stated that it would be making a record of the meeting publicly available. The handling of information and privacy notice was mentioned and acknowledged.

HC 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 by CVA representatives.

Subjects:

Quarterly CVA updates

The CVA will meet with the Electronic Cigarette Professional Committee of China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC) in December 2024. The objective of this meeting will be to work with manufacturers and authorities to address Canadian compliance requirements, to provide training on regulatory requirements and to discuss innovative environmental solutions in vaping product manufacturing. The CVA highlighted the need to address compliance requirements with the ECCC as the majority of vaping products on the Canadian market are imported from China. The CVA has observed that rates of compliance are worsening while the illegal market for these products is growing and unfairly competing with the legal vaping market.

The CVA plans to reach out to provinces and to Minister Saks to discuss the illegal market, possible enforcement options, and the observed impacts of excise tax on the legal market. The CVA raised concerns for the need of standard product packaging requirements. The CVA shared that in some instances consumers are being mislead by exaggerated "puff counts" labelled on products, leading consumers to purchase these vaping products based on the number of apparent "puffs" being advertised. In addition, the CVA plans to expand work on a national vape recycling program and set targets in order to reduce e-waste by engaging with more retailers and manufacturers.

Illicit Market Review

The CVA has observed a growth in illegal market activity and non-compliant vaping products in every province, specifically in regards to nicotine concentration that exceed the permitted levels. Products labelled correctly but are found non-compliant when tested. They also noted concerns with, excise tax compliance, product names, and volume declarations. The CVA expects to share test results with Health Canada in the coming months. The CVA raised concerns that the time required to carry out enforcement actions is a contributing factor to the growth of the illegal market and non-compliant products. The CVA also found that non-compliant products are not always on display at retail outlets, but may be made available to consumers upon request. The CVA raised concern that with the increased excise tax on vaping products and the lack of timely enforcement actions, consumers are going to First Nations reserves to evade paying the excise tax.

Enforcement

Without timely enforcement actions, legal retailers are having to compete with illegal market and non-compliant products. The CVA expressed that current regulatory framework and excise tax regime has made the legal market less profitable and more difficult to be sustainable in the long-term. The CVA expressed that retailers do not always know if the products they sell are compliant. The CVA proposed that Health Canada reinforce compliance by publicly sharing and updating lists of products and/or brands that are compliant in order for retailers to verify their products.

Conclusion:

The meeting was then concluded.

Documents:

• Agenda as provided by the CVA