Summary#
Bill 85, the Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act (Vaping is not for Kids), 2022, would amend Ontario’s Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017. Its stated goal is to reduce youth vaping; it would do so by changing who may buy vapour products, how they may be promoted and sold, and where they may be sold.
- It would raise the minimum age for buying tobacco products, vapour products and prescribed products or substances from 19 to 21.
- It would ban all promotion of vapour products and restrict retail sales of flavoured products other than tobacco-flavoured products, as well as products above specified nicotine limits.
- Retail vapour products could be sold only in specialty vape stores or designated stores in remote or rural communities. Local boards of health would approve those stores and could set conditions.
- A specialty vape store would generally need at least 85% of its sales—or, for a newer store, its inventory purchases or sales—to be vapour products. People under 21 could not enter one.
- Ontario Health would have to prepare an annual report for the Minister on youth vaping, with information and recommendations to help develop policies.
What it means for you#
- People under 21: You could not be sold tobacco products, vapour products or prescribed products or substances. You could not enter a specialty vape store. Someone who appears under 25 would need satisfactory ID showing they are at least 21 to enter.
- Vapour-product sellers: You could not promote vapour products. Retail sales would be limited to the two permitted types of store. A board of health’s approval would be required before opening a specialty vape store or selling vapour products at a designated remote or rural store. Existing specialty stores would have 12 months after the Act takes effect before the approval requirement applies.
- Store operators: Boards of health would have to consider public-health effects, proximity to schools and certain other places, and any prescribed considerations. They could impose conditions and, after required notice, revoke approval for contraventions.
- The public: The bill would not itself require the Minister to spend vapour-product tax revenue on education. The Minister could direct that revenue to public education about vaping’s health risks, but only if the Legislature appropriates funds.
- The bill would allow regulations to permit sampling in a specialty vape store, limited to two people sampling at a time. Sampling would not automatically be allowed.
Money#
No cost estimate is provided in the supplied material. No publicly available information.
- Ontario Health would have to prepare an annual report, and boards of health would handle store approvals and related requirements; the bill gives no staffing or cost estimates.
- The Minister could direct tax revenue from sales at the permitted stores to public education, but only to the extent the Legislature appropriates funds. This is a power, not a requirement or a new tax.
What is unclear#
- The bill leaves some details to regulations, including store requirements, approval procedures, inspections and reviews of board decisions. It does not set out those rules or timelines.
- The bill does not define “designated store” or explain how a community qualifies as remote or rural in the supplied text.
- The nicotine limit for products other than pods and liquids would be set by regulation. The bill does not state that amount.
- Boards of health could set requirements for specialty stores, but the bill does not set common standards for those requirements. It says boards must publish them online.
- The parent Act was not supplied, so the bill’s full effect against current law, including the penalties in the Act’s existing penalty tables, could not be independently checked. The explanatory note says the current minimum purchase age is 19 and describes the existing flavour restriction as applying to prescribed flavoured products.
Case for#
- The bill appears intended to reduce youth access to and promotion of vaping products by raising the purchase age and limiting where those products can be sold.
- Restricting flavours and products above specified nicotine levels could be seen as a way to limit the products available for retail sale.
- Local health boards could consider public-health effects and nearby schools when deciding whether to approve a store.
- Annual reporting by Ontario Health could give the Minister information and recommendations for policy decisions on youth vaping.
Case against#
- A full ban on promotion could restrict advertising by vapour-product businesses, while the bill does not spell out how the ban would apply in practice.
- Limiting sales to approved store types could make retail sales harder to operate, and the bill leaves important approval rules to future regulations and local boards.
- The bill does not set uniform local approval standards or spell out the process for challenging a board’s decision in the bill itself.
- The proposed age and product restrictions may limit access for adults as well as youth. The bill does not provide information on how much they would reduce youth vaping.