ONTARIO RESTRICTS E-CIGARETTES, BANS FLAVORED TOBACCO

May 28, 2015
E-cigarettes to be treated like regular cigarettes for now, with possibility to categorize them as cessation aids in the future.
​TORONTO – Electronic cigarettes are now treated the same as regular cigarettes in Ontario under a new law that also bans the sale of flavored tobacco and requires restaurants to put calorie counts on menus.
According to the new law, e-cigarettes cannot be sold to anyone under age 19 and product promotion and displays are regulated. The law also bans the use of e-cigarettes in smoke-free areas.
In discussing the new regulations, Ontario’s associate health minister described e-cigarettes as an “emerging technology” and says that provincial officials are “leaving the door open” to the possibility that they can be used as a cessation aid to help some smokers break their addiction.
If, after further review, Health Canada gives its stamp of approval to their use as cessation aids, the act can be changed through regulation to treat e-cigarettes as stop-smoking products, affecting where they can be sold and displayed.
Only one member of the legislature voted against the bill, saying the law too severely limits the availability of e-cigarettes, which he says help people (including himself) to stop smoking.