Championing children’s health is a large part of the Canadian Cancer Society’s (CCS) advocacy work. And thanks to your support, we have a new win in youth vaping regulations.
A new regulation will now ensure e-cigarettes sold in Canada have a maximum nicotine concentration of 20 mg/ml — an essential measure to help protect youth from becoming addicted to nicotine.
At least 33 countries (as well as the provinces of British Columbia and Nova Scotia), already have in place maximum nicotine restrictions. In Canada, some brands of e-cigarettes have nicotine concentrations of 59 or 57 mg/ml — almost triple the new regulation.
These high nicotine e-cigarettes are a growing concern as the rates of youth vaping climb. In just four years, youth vaping rates in Canada have more than tripled. Data from the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey found that for students in grades 10 to 12, vaping increased from 9% in the 2014-15 school year to 29% in the 2018-19 school year.
With your generous support, CCS has been able to advocate for stronger e-cigarette regulations as a means to protect our youth and benefit public health. The new regulation builds on our recent advocacy win that resulted in federal restrictions of e-cigarette advertising.
We are so grateful for your support. With you as our partner, we will continue our advocacy work on youth vaping — and our commitment to protect the health of young Canadians.