Flavours and High Nicotine Strengths Needed for Vaping Products to Reach Their Full Potential

TORONTO: On World No Tobacco Day, the vast majority of Canadian vapers can celebrate their decision to quit tobacco.



However, a recent consultation by Health Canada suggests that they are considering an additional prohibition of flavours and the introduction of a ceiling on nicotine which would make vaping products less appealing to adult smokers who are trying to quit or quitters who remain smoke free by vaping.



A recent survey of nearly 2000 Canadian vapers examined the role of flavours and nicotine strength in their decision to switch to vaping and confirms much of what has already been shown in other countries—vapers enjoy multiple flavours, they start on high nicotine strengths and move to lower strength nicotine over time and the most popular flavours are the ones Health Canada has already banned, said Dr. Chris Lalonde, Academic Research Advisor for Rights for Vapers.



Vaping products, which contain no tobacco yet deliver nicotine by heating an e-liquid into a vapour, are gaining credibility as a stop smoking tool in tobacco cessation research. A 2019 study by Hajek and colleagues found that vapers have a one year abstinence rate of 18% in comparison to a rate of 9.9% with those using nicotine-replacement therapy when both groups received behavioral support. Similarly, a recent University College London population study, funded by Cancer Research UK, found that vapour product users are 95% more likely to be successful at quitting smoking than those who do not use vapour products.



In Canada, Health Canada legalized vaping products only in May 2018. While this seemed like a promising move for tobacco harm reduction, immediately after legalization, Health Canada introduced regulations restricting advertising and prohibiting certain flavours like confectionary and dessert to limit youth interest in them. Less than a year later, Health Canada issued a notice of intent to further regulate vaping products by imposing more restrictions on flavours and limiting nicotine strength and device design.



For an adult smoker, a preference is not a matter of this or that, the desirability of vaping products is what drives a change in behavior that might just save their life. It is critical that their voice is heard in this policy debate. For this reason, we are making the data set open and available to the public, concluded Dr. Lalonde.

Flavours and High Nicotine Strengths Needed for Vaping Products to Reach Their Full Potential

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