E-cigarettes help kick smoking habit, Winnipeg vape store owner says

WINNIPEG – A Winnipeg vape store owner is lauding his product after hearing about a proposed bill limiting e-cigarette use in Manitoba.

“We’ve helped numerous people get off cigarettes… They’re just getting their lives back,” said Frankie Garcea, who owns Cloud City, one of about 20 vapour retailers in Winnipeg. “It’s the furthest from tobacco.”

READ MORE: Health Canada slow to regulate e-cigarettes

The province will introduce legislation Monday limiting e-cigarettes, saying it needs to protect children.

“We don’t want that around kids without knowing exactly what the impact might be on them,” said Minister of Healthy Living and Seniors Deanne Crothers. “We’re really focused on being cautionary where children are concerned.”

This comes after provinces like Ontario recently restriced how e-cigarettes are advertised and sold.

READ MORE: Ontario restricts sale, use of e-cigarettes, bans flavoured tobacco sales

“The idea that e-cigarettes are marketed towards children seems kind of ridiculous, it’s an adult product,” said Garcea. “There’s definitely no glamorous part about it.”

Heath Canada has not approved any e-cigarette with nictine for sale and is continuing to advise against the products.

And the Manitoba Lung Association said studies indicate vaping can be harmful to people’s health.

“It’s turning into this big industry, re-normalizing something that we made a lot of headway with, so we’re losing ground,” said Tracy Fehr of the Manitoba Lung Association.