Health Canada: E-cigarettes help quit smoking and can greatly reduce exposure to harmful substances
Original Overseas Report Blue Hole New Consumption October 18
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We have recently made popular science and interpretation of e-cigarette policies in New Zealand and Australia. Today, the Blue Hole will take you to understand the e-cigarette regulatory situation in Canada.
Coincident? Isn’t it? Canada, like New Zealand and Australia, is a member of the Commonwealth. More or less will be affected by some local policies in the UK.
Earlier, we said that in terms of e-cigarette policy, New Zealand is one of the few countries that can rival the United Kingdom, and that is the nation’s support for e-cigarettes. Australia has limited support for e-cigarettes. Nicotine e-cigarettes are included in medical supervision and require a prescription to use.
What’s the situation in Canada?
On Canada’s official website canada.ca, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada elaborated on Canada’s e-cigarette policy.
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Canada’s explanation of e-cigarettes mainly includes: e-cigarettes and smoking cessation, risks of e-cigarettes, current use of e-cigarettes in Canada, e-cigarette product supervision, and e-cigarette compliance and law enforcement.
- About e-cigarettes and smoking cessation
Health Canada says that if you are a smoker, quitting smoking is the best way to improve your health. Replacing smoking with e-cigarettes will reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals. If you switch completely from smoking to e-cigarette products, your overall health will improve in the short term.
Related reports cited show that Canada recognizes that e-cigarettes are less harmful than smoking. Many toxic and carcinogenic chemicals in tobacco and tobacco smoke are formed when tobacco is burned.
When talking about the benefits of e-cigarettes, Health Canada stated that e-cigarettes do not produce smoke, do not contain traditional tobacco, and will not burn. In addition to nicotine, e-cigarette products usually:
A small part of the 7,000 chemical substances found in tobacco smoke;
The content of several harmful chemicals found in the smoke is low;
E-cigarettes help to quit smoking.
In summary, e-cigarettes contain only a small part of traditional tobacco chemicals, and the content of harmful substances is reduced.
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Health Canada says it may be difficult to quit smoking, but it is possible. E-cigarette products and e-cigarettes release nicotine in a smaller way than smoking. Although there is no obvious final evidence yet, some evidence shows that the use of e-cigarettes is related to increasing the success rate.
When quitting smoking, users may use cigarettes and e-cigarette products at the same time. Switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes will reduce users’ exposure to many toxic and carcinogenic chemicals.
It can be seen from this paragraph that Canada supports the use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation, which can reduce the chance of exposure to more harmful substances.
- About the risks of e-cigarettes
Health Canada stated that e-cigarettes increase exposure to chemicals that may harm your health (such as causing lung damage). E-cigarettes may also expose you to addictive nicotine.
People are also concerned about the attractiveness of e-cigarette products among young people and their potential to promote tobacco use.
Focusing on smokers, Health Canada stated that compared with smoking, e-cigarettes are a less harmful option.
According to the Ministry of Health, nicotine products are approved for nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches or nicotine gum.
The Ministry of Health emphasized that nicotine is a highly addictive substance. The use of nicotine e-cigarettes may lead to dependence,
As a result, users who would not otherwise use nicotine become addicted to nicotine, and children and adolescents are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of nicotine, including addiction. They may rely on nicotine exposure levels lower than adults.
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Nicotine affects memory and concentration, and is known to change the brain development of young people. It may make young people addicted to nicotine and possibly other drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent young people from using it.
At the same time, Health Canada also reminded that for young children, swallowing e-cigarette liquid can lead to death and non-fatal nicotine poisoning.
Therefore, the Ministry of Health reminds that when purchasing e-liquid containers containing nicotine, please look for a poison hazard container with a child-proof cover, and take various measures to prevent children from directly contacting nicotine e-liquid.
Compared with tobacco products, e-cigarette substances contain fewer and different chemical substances.
Vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol are the main liquids in e-cigarette products. These are considered safe for many consumer products such as cosmetics and sweeteners. However, the long-term safety of the substances in inhaled e-cigarette products is still unclear and is still being evaluated.
Food manufacturers use chemicals used to flavor e-cigarette products to add flavor to their products. Although they are safe to eat, these ingredients have not been tested to determine if they are safe to inhale.
The Ministry of Health reminded that there is no combustion during the atomization process, but the e-liquid needs to be heated during the atomization process. This creates new chemicals, such as formaldehyde. Some pollutants (such as nickel, tin, aluminum) may also enter e-cigarette products and then enter the vapor.
Some of these chemicals and pollutants are related to negative health effects. But the content of chemicals and pollutants in steam is usually much lower than that in cigarette smoke.
The Ministry of Health stated that we are still learning more about how e-cigarettes affect health. The long-term health effects of e-cigarettes are unclear. However, there is sufficient evidence to justify efforts to prevent youth and non-smokers from using e-cigarette products.
When talking about second-hand e-cigarette vapor, Health Canada stated that second-hand vapor is not harmless, but it does contain much less chemicals than second-hand smoke. Bystanders may be exposed to the steam exhaled by the user. The health effects of exposure to second-hand steam are still unknown. However, compared with smoke from tobacco products, the risk is expected to be much lower.
The Ministry of Health advises users to be cautious about non-users and young people.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health reminded that although e-cigarette products contain fewer harmful chemicals than cigarettes, they may still contain nicotine. It is recommended that women give up nicotine during pregnancy.
- Current use of e-cigarettes in Canada
The current e-cigarette report was completed in 2017. There are four years away from now. The data may have been lagging behind. It is for reference only.
The survey shows that 15% of Canadians have tried e-cigarette products. Young people (15 to 19 years old) and young people (20 to 24 years old) have the highest rates of trying e-cigarettes.
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Among Canadians who have used e-cigarette products in the past 30 days, 65% are current smokers and 20% are former smokers. 15% of people reported that they never smoked.
32% of current or former smokers who have used e-cigarette products reported using them as a smoking cessation aid.
The survey does not include questions about the success rate of trying to use e-cigarette products to quit smoking.
Another survey of Canadian students in grades 7-12 (Quebec’s secondary school I to secondary school V) from 2018 to 2019 showed that 34% of students in grades 7-12 had tried e-cigarette products, and 20% reported Used them in the past 30 days.
Specifically, 28% of people have tried e-cigarettes containing nicotine, and 29% have tried e-cigarettes without nicotine.
In the past 30 days, 18% of students have used nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, and 11% of students have used nicotine-free e-cigarettes.
Most students who have tried e-cigarette products (such as e-cigarettes) have also tried cigarettes.
54% of students believe that it is fairly easy or very easy to obtain e-cigarettes that contain nicotine if they want, while 58% believe that it is fairly easy or very easy to obtain e-cigarettes that do not contain nicotine.
Health Canada will also study the behavioral data of e-cigarette retailers, which is mainly used to provide information for decision-making on the e-cigarette product market, and to monitor how easy it is for young people to obtain these products.
At the same time, Health Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research established a Scientific Advisory Committee for Electronic Cigarette Products. The advisory committee regularly reviews the evidence and provides recommendations and reviews the science of e-cigarette products.
- Electronic cigarette product supervision
In Canada, electronic cigarette products manufactured, labelled, advertised, imported or sold are subject to the following laws and regulations:
Tobacco and Electronic Cigarette Products Act (TVPA)
Canadian Consumer Product Safety Act
Food and Drug Law
Non-smokers Health Act
Cannabis Law
The Tobacco and Electronic Cigarette Products Act became law on May 23, 2018. It aims to protect Canadians from nicotine addiction and the temptation to use tobacco, especially for young people, from electronic cigarette products.
The key elements of TVPA related to e-cigarette products include: not allowing the sale or gift of e-cigarette products to anyone under the age of 18, and not allowing the sale of e-cigarette products that attract young people.
The Canadian government has the right to formulate the following rules: including industry reports, manufacturing standards, product and packaging labels (for example, health warnings), prohibiting the use of certain ingredients and flavors, and the promotion of e-cigarette products.
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The Canadian Consumer Product Safety Act stipulates that the manufacture, import, advertising, and sales of e-cigarette products that do not make health claims are subject to the Canadian Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) and are also subject to TVPA.
The Food and Drug Law applies to e-cigarette products that make health claims (to help quit smoking). This includes products that contain nicotine or any other drugs defined by the FDA. These products must be authorized by Health Canada before they can be advertised, sold in Canada and imported commercially.
Before issuing market authorization, Health Canada will carefully review the evidence provided by the product. This review is conducted to confirm that the product meets safety, effectiveness and quality requirements.
The Non-Smokers Health Act (NSHA) addresses the problem of second-hand smoke and vapor. The Act applies to federally regulated workplaces such as banks, ferries, commercial aircraft, and federal government offices.
Electronic cigarette products containing cannabis are regulated by the Cannabis Law and its regulations. The Cannabis Act became law on October 17, 2018, and established a framework to control the production, sale, and possession of cannabis across Canada.
The purpose of the bill is to protect public health and public safety, among other things, restrict young people’s use of marijuana, protect young people and others from the temptation to use marijuana, and prevent illegal activities related to marijuana through appropriate sanctions and law enforcement.
On October 17, 2019, cannabis extracts, including e-cigarette products, were legally sold in Canada.
Like e-cigarette products containing nicotine, the safety of cannabis e-cigarette devices is regulated by CCPSA.
The nicotine concentration in the e-cigarette product regulations stipulates that the maximum nicotine concentration of e-cigarette products manufactured or imported for sale in Canada is 20 mg/ml. If the nicotine concentration shown on the packaging exceeds 20 mg/ml, the regulations prohibit the packaging and sale of e-cigarette products.
- E-cigarette compliance and law enforcement
Health Canada has developed a strict compliance and enforcement program to ensure that manufacturers, importers and sellers of e-cigarette products comply with the Tobacco and Electronic Cigarette Products Act (TVPA) and the Canadian Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA).
Health Canada inspectors regularly inspect tobacco and e-cigarette product retailers, manufacturers, online agencies, and any other locations where tobacco and e-cigarette products are sold or promoted.
In April 2019, Health Canada pledged to provide Canadians with regular updates on the results of Health Canada’s compliance and enforcement activities. In support of this commitment, Health Canada began issuing e-cigarette compliance and enforcement reports at the end of 2019.
The e-cigarette compliance and enforcement report supports Health Canada’s commitment to transparency and openness, providing industry and consumers with information about Health Canada’s compliance and enforcement activities in the sales, labeling and promotion of e-cigarette products. They listed companies that were inspected by Health Canada inspectors and found to be non-compliant with TVPA and/or CCPSA during the inspection.
E-cigarette compliance and enforcement reports are generated by Health Canada after compliance and enforcement activities occur. The report provides information about the inspection results and will not be updated to include any follow-up compliance activities after the inspection.
As a regulatory agency, Health Canada is committed to improving transparency and openness to further enhance confidence in regulatory decisions. This includes sharing the results of its compliance and enforcement activities related to e-cigarette products.
Health Canada conducts inspections to verify and implement requirements related to e-cigarette products under TVPA and CCPSA.
Health Canada inspectors are designated and trained to carry out compliance and enforcement activities in a fair, consistent, and just manner in accordance with standard procedures.
Health Canada inspectors regularly inspect e-cigarette product retailers, professional institutions, manufacturers, online agencies, and any other institutions that sell, promote, manufacture, or label e-cigarette products. In addition, Health Canada also conducts compliance promotion activities (such as providing information and education) to raise the e-cigarette industry’s awareness of its obligations.
All companies that carry out activities related to e-cigarette products are responsible for understanding and complying with the requirements of TVPA, CCSPA, and Food and Drug Law (FDA) (if applicable). This includes prohibiting the sale of e-cigarette products to young people.
Health Canada hopes that e-cigarette product institutions, including online institutions, will prevent young Canadians from contacting e-cigarette products. This may include verifying the identity of anyone wishing to purchase these products to ensure that the purchaser is of legal age.
Retailers must also comply with applicable municipal and provincial/regional rules and regulations regarding the sales and promotion of tobacco and e-cigarette products.
Related reports:
New Zealand nationwide supports e-cigarettes: E-cigarettes have been approved as smoking cessation assistants
Australia has limited support for e-cigarettes: when drugs are regulated, use e-cigarettes to feel like a patient
FDA allows the legal sale of e-cigarettes for the first time: suitable for protecting public health, in-depth interpretation of Vuse’s PMTA