Health Canada is proposing to lower the nicotine concentration in e-cigarette products as part of an effort to decrease youth vaping rates.
The proposal is to decrease the maximum allowable nicotine concentration from the current limit of 66 mg/ml to 20 mg/ml — the cap in the European Union (EU), health officials said Friday.
“These changes will help reduce the appeal of vaping products to youth,” Health Minister Patty Hajdu said in a news release.
In Canada, some brands of Juul and Imperial Tobacco’s Vuse e-cigarettes have nicotine concentrations of 59 or 57 mg/ml — almost triple the standard in the EU and in the new Canadian regulation — according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
The BC and Nova Scotia regulations
Youth vaping has “skyrocketed” in the last few years, Heart & Stroke said in a statement.
One-fifth of grades 7 – 12 students in Canada vape and 34 per cent report having tried an e-cigarette.
On Saturday, the government plans to launch a 75-day public consultation on the proposed new regulations to seek feedback from Canadians.
The proposed regulations also would prohibit packaging and sale of a vaping product if the nicotine concentration on the label exceeds the new limit.
Health Canada is also considering restricting flavours in vaping products and making the industry give more information about their products, including details on sales, ingredients and research and development.
The public consultation closes on March 4, 2021.