Summary#
Bill 151, the Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act (Vaping is not for Kids), 2019, would amend Ontario’s Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017. Its stated goal is to reduce youth vaping. It would tighten rules on promoting, selling and sampling vapour products, and require Ontario Health to report to the Minister each year on youth vaping.
- It would prohibit promoting vapour products “in any manner” and restrict retail sales of flavoured products and products above specified nicotine levels.
- Retail vapour products could be sold only in specialty vape stores. A store would generally need approval from its local board of health; existing specialty vape stores would have 12 months before that approval rule applies.
- A store would have to meet a sales or inventory test: at least 85 per cent of its sales, or for some newer stores its sales or inventory purchases, must be vapour products. Local board and prescribed requirements would also apply.
- The board of health could set approval conditions and later revoke approval in specified circumstances. Customers under 19 could not enter; people who appear under 25 would need satisfactory ID showing they are at least 19.
- The Minister could direct that tax revenue from vapour-product sales at specialty stores be used for public education about vaping’s health risks—but only if the Legislature has appropriated funds for that purpose.
What it means for you#
- Vapour-product retailers: You would have to sell retail products through a specialty vape store and meet its sales or inventory test. Operating without local board approval would be an offence, with a fine of up to $5,000 for each day or part-day the offence continues. Selling outside a specialty store would also be an offence, but the supplied text does not give its fine amount.
- Store operators and customers: Store operators would need to follow any board-set approval conditions. Customers under 19 could not enter, and customers who appear under 25 would need ID to enter. Sampling could happen in a specialty store, subject to any prescribed conditions, with no more than two people sampling at once.
- Vapers and consumers: Retail sales of flavoured products would be prohibited unless the flavour or flavouring agent is prescribed. Products with more than 20 mg of nicotine per millilitre in a pod or liquid would be restricted; the threshold for other products would be prescribed. The bill does not set out which flavours would be allowed or the threshold for other products.
- Boards of health: They would have to publish any local requirements for specialty vape stores. They would assess applications, consider public-health effects and proximity to schools and other places listed in the Act, and could impose conditions.
- Ontario Health: It would have to prepare an annual report to the Minister on youth vaping, with information or recommendations that may assist policy development.
- Current law: The parent Act was not supplied, so I could not verify how these changes compare with current law. The bill also removes “vapour products” from a provision in section 6; without the parent Act, the effect of that edit cannot be confirmed.
Money#
No publicly available information on estimated costs or savings is in the supplied material.
- The bill would require Ontario Health to prepare an annual report, but gives no staffing or cost estimate.
- The Minister may direct the use of tax revenue from vapour-product sales for public education, but only to the extent that the Legislature appropriates funds. The bill does not set a tax rate or require that revenue to be directed this way.
What is unclear#
- The bill does not specify the prescribed flavours or nicotine limits for products other than pods and liquids.
- It leaves local boards’ store requirements to those boards and future rules. The approval process, timelines, review process and inspection details would depend on regulations that are not included here.
- The bill refers to notice rules for revoking approval and to other locations listed in section 6, but those details are not in the supplied text.
- It is unclear how local approval requirements would differ across Ontario, or how they would interact with existing rules.
- The bill says it would start 120 days after Royal Assent, but the supplied material does not establish whether it received Royal Assent.
Case for#
- The bill appears intended to limit young people’s access to vapour products by restricting retail sales to specialty stores and barring entry to people under 19.
- Restricting promotion, flavoured products and products with high nicotine levels could reduce young people’s exposure to vaping products and marketing.
- Requiring local health boards to consider public-health effects and nearby schools could let store approvals reflect local conditions.
- Annual reporting could give the Minister information and recommendations for developing policies to reduce youth vaping.
Case against#
- The bill does not set out a consistent province-wide approval process. Local boards could set different requirements, and the bill does not include application timelines or a review process itself.
- The broad promotion ban and flavour and nicotine restrictions could limit what retailers can sell or say, while key details depend on future prescribed rules.
- The bill requires an annual report and gives boards approval and enforcement responsibilities, but provides no cost estimate or staffing plan.
- It is unclear how the bill’s store restrictions and local approval system would work alongside existing rules.