Health Canada and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. Meeting: Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. Presentation – July 20, 2022

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Subject:

Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "ITCAN") requested a meeting to present to Health Canada on the topic of ITCAN's initiatives on youth access to vaping products.

Date:

July 20, 2022

Participants:

Health Canada (HC)

• Laura Smith, Acting Director General, Tobacco Control Directorate (TCD), Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch (CSCB) (Chair)
• Krista Locke, Director General, Controlled Substances and Consumer Products Directorate, Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch (ROEB)
• Sally Gibbs, Director, Tobacco, Vaping and Controlled Substances Division, ROEB
• Denis Choinière, Director, Tobacco Products Regulatory Office (TPRO), TCD, CSCB
• Suneil Malik, Director, Office of Research and Surveillance (ORS), TCD, CSCB
• Senior Corporate Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Advisor, Office of Compliance for Tobacco and Vaping Products, TCD, CSCB
• Senior Manager, Tobacco, Vaping and Controlled Substances Division, ROEB
• Manager, Vaping Regulations, TPRO, TCD, CSCB
• Manager, Social Science and Surveillance Division, ORS, TCD, CSCB
• Acting Manager, International and Regulatory Policy Unit, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning (OPSP), TCD, CSCB
• Policy Analyst, International and Regulatory Policy Unit, OPSP, TCD, CSCB (observer)
• Policy Analyst, International and Regulatory Policy Unit, OPSP, TCD, CSCB (secretariat)

ITCAN

• Eric Gagnon, Vice President, Legal and External Affairs
• Sebastien Dolan, Head of Government & External Affairs
• Zvi Cohen, Senior Regulatory and Scientific Engagement Manager

Introduction:

A meeting was held at the request of ITCAN in order to provide Health Canada with a presentation on their initiatives regarding youth access to vaping products.

Health Canada read a transparency and openness statement, reminding ITCAN representatives that the meeting is subject to disclosure as per Health Canada'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.

Health Canada also referred to Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the department's international obligation to protect tobacco control policies from the vested interests of the tobacco industry.

The Chair then invited participants to introduce themselves.

Subjects:

ITCAN's presentation included information on the following:

• Statistics on youth vaping from the Government of Canada's Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey (2021) and the Canadian Postsecondary Education Alcohol and Drug Use Survey (2019-2020).
• iCommit & iCommit Pro: ITCAN's information session for employees, agencies and retailers regarding youth access.
• Retailer toolkit: Information that ITCAN provides to retailers on fines and penalties associated with selling to youth.
• Retailer certification program: ITCAN's online certification program for retailers to sell their products.
• Point of sale branding: ITCAN's visual reminders, for point of sale, that nicotine products are for adult consumption only.
• Youth prevention information hub: ITCAN's in-store education and awareness campaign.
• Locked device technology: Technology to lock vaping (?) devices that can only be unlocked when a consumer proves their age.

In closing, ITCAN reiterated they work with multiple partners to try to prevent and reduce youth vaping, and stated that they felt it was important that any regulatory proposals from Health Canada address youth vaping without hindering harm reduction efforts for adults who vape.

Health Canada asked ITCAN if they have a similar certification program for e-commerce or delivery companies. ITCAN responded that companies could complete the iCommit information session, but mentioned that age verification at time of delivery is not currently standard across the industry. Health Canada also asked if ITCAN had a mystery shopping program. ITCAN responded that they do not.

Conclusion:

The meeting was then concluded.

Documents:

• Agenda as provided by Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd.