The vaping company Juul has been ordered to remove its products from the US market. (Tony Dejac / Associated Press – Image Credit)
Earlier this week, regulators in the United States ordered Juul to withdraw its vaping products from the market, dealing a serious blow to one of the most powerful players in the industry.
The company is appealing the decision of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asking a federal court to block a government order to stop the sale of its e-cigarettes.
Although the attempt to ban in the United States does not directly affect Canada, some health advocates say it raises questions about the slow pace of regulation in that country.
Here’s a closer look at the FDA’s decision and what’s happening in Canada.
Why was Juul banned?
As part of the FDA review process, companies had to prove that their e-cigarettes were good for public health. In practice, this means proving that older smokers who use them are more likely to quit or reduce smoking, while teenagers are unlikely to get hooked on them.
In its ruling, the FDA said some of the biggest e-cigarette sellers, such as Juul, may have played a “disproportionate” role in the rise of teenage fumes. The agency said Juul’s application did not have enough evidence to show that the placing on the market of its products “would be appropriate to protect public health”.
On Friday, the e-cigarette maker asked the court to pause what it called “extraordinary and illegal action” by the FDA, which will require it to stop its business immediately. The company has filed an urgent lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., as it prepares to appeal the FDA’s decision.
This dispute is far from over.
Marshall Ritzel / Associated Press
What about Canada?
Juul’s vaping products, as well as those sold by other companies, remain available in Canada.
Health Canada proposed a ban on flavored vaping products last June. At the time, he cited research showing that flavored vaping products were “highly attractive to young people and that young people are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of nicotine – including altered brain development, which can cause memory and concentration challenges.” .
The story continues
But after a round of consultations last year, the proposed ban has not yet taken effect.
WATCH | PEI already has the strictest vaping and smoking laws in Canada:
Several provinces and territories have introduced their own restrictions on flavored vaping products, citing their appeal to teens.
(Juul voluntarily stopped selling many of its flavored cartridges in 2020 after criticism that they were designed to attract young people.)
David Hammond, a professor of public health at the University of Waterloo who studies vaping among young people, said that banning Juul products in the US will not necessarily have a significant impact on the industry as a whole, given the declining market share and variety of products available. .
“You know, it’s like a tube of toothpaste. If you press at one point, you just press it somewhere else,” he said.
What does Health Canada say?
“Health Canada has no plans to remove vaping products from the Canadian market that comply with the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act and the Consumer Product Safety Act in Canada,” CBC News said in an email.
The government recently introduced new restrictions in the sector, including restrictions on e-cigarette advertising and the amount of nicotine in products. It is also in the process of reviewing the legislation on vaping products, which came into force in 2018.
On its website, Health Canada warns of the risks of e-cigarettes, saying “the potential long-term health effects of vaping remain unknown” and the government continues to investigate “severe vaping-related lung disease.”
Last week, Health Canada announced another set of proposed regulations that would require vaping companies to disclose information about “sales and ingredients used in vaping products” to help the government “keep up with the fast-growing vaping market.” .
How popular is vaping?
Vaping is popular among young people, with 14% of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 19 using vaping in the last month of 2020, an increase of 6% over the same month in 2017, according to Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine study.
Vaping is less popular with adults over the age of 25, with only 3% reporting using it in the last month in 2020.
Robert Schwartz, a senior scientist at the Center for Addictions and Mental Health in Toronto, said the regulatory challenge is to find a balance between providing these products to adults as an alternative to cigarettes while limiting their attractiveness to younger non-smokers. .
“We are definitely finding that young people who would not otherwise become smokers have started using e-cigarettes and are rapidly becoming addicted to them,” Schwartz said.
“Our research also shows that some adults are able to quit by … using these cigarettes.
What is detention?
Like Schwartz, Hammond said vaping products could be a useful tool in helping to stop smokers from quitting. He said there was no point in imposing strict restrictions on vaping products if cigarettes, which are thought to be more harmful, were still available in corner stores.
Craig Chivers / CBC
“I don’t think the answer lies in how they are regulated,” he said. “I think it has to do with the industry and the restructuring of these products as something that a 50-year-old uses to quit smoking, not a 15-year-old grabbing on the way to a party.
Hammond, who is on the Health Canada vaping advisory board, said the agency could move faster given the stakes.
“There is no doubt that these are difficult issues and the market is changing rapidly. But this is not an area where slow, painful regulation is appropriate,” he said.
Cynthia Calard, executive director of the Doctors Without Tobacco Smoking Canada advocacy group, said that while the context is different in Canada, the FDA decision “reminds that governments can and should ban market access to products that cannot. be shown to be in favor of public health. “
Add Comment