It is still possible to easily obtain flavored vaping products in Quebec, despite the ban on their sale for almost four months now. The newspaper took the test and managed to obtain items without even having to set foot outside.
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As it is prohibited to sell tobacco products or vaping products online in Quebec, the representative of Newspaper turned to an Ontario business to place an order online.
After just a few days, our order was received by mail, without any verification being carried out regarding age and place of residence.
“It’s extremely worrying because it’s a real circus on the internet. It’s so easy for minors to access. In certain cases, you just have to press a button to say that you are over 18 years old or enter a fictitious date and that’s it,” says the spokesperson for the Quebec Coalition for Control. tobacco, Flory Doucas.
According to her, this ease of online access clearly demonstrates a lack of compliance and good faith in the face of these new measures.
“It’s annoying because it’s another indicator of the lack of seriousness of the vaping industry,” she adds.
The federal government must “put its pants down”
According to the federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, “it is prohibited to ship or deliver, for valuable consideration, a tobacco product from one province to another, unless the shipment or delivery is carried out between manufacturers and retailers.
However, there seems to be a gray area since vaping products are not subject to this article of law which concerns interprovincial shipping.
“We encourage the provinces to go beyond federal measures to counter vaping among young people, but then federal supervision is not sufficient to optimize the implementation of provincial measures,” explains Ms.me Doucas.
“The federal government will have to step up at some point. The laws are there, the regulations too, now it’s up to them to apply them,” she added.
A “worrying” situation
With regard to the situation in Quebec, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) ensures that inspectors ensure compliance with the measures resulting from the Law concerning the fight against tobacco.
However, it specifies that the interprovincial sale of tobacco or vaping products is subject to federal legislation on tobacco and vaping products, which complicates its application.
The Ministry nevertheless expresses concern about the fact “that minors can obtain vaping products in this way” and adds that the situation is currently being analyzed in order to “take appropriate action and [d’]prevent it from happening again.