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A store that specializes in products intended to cut down the dangerous effects of smoking has been warned by Health Canada it must remove its signage because the agency categorizes them as tobacco products, which makes it illegal for them to advertise outwardly to the public.

The problem is, says Rothmans, Benson and Hedges, which produces IQOS — a device that heats a tobacco stick into vapour at 350 C, but not to the point where combustion will cause smoke — is their products fit more into the vaping category, where such companies can advertise.

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Because the tobacco is heated and not burned at temperatures in excess of 600 C, there’s no smoke containing high levels of harmful chemicals, making it a safer choice for those who want to wean themselves off smoking, the company insists.

“Health Canada should be encouraging us to open more stores, not take down the signs on the ones we have,” Peter Luongo, managing director of Rothmans, Benson and Hedges Inc. said Wednesday as a work crew began taking down the storefront signage at its Wellesley St. location.