Concerns raised by a lobby group that sections of the province’s anti-smoking legislation are about to expire are unfounded according to an Alberta Health spokesperson.
Earlier this week Campaign for a Smoke-Free Alberta accused Rachel Notley’s NDP government of “sitting on its hands” with the legislation.
The legislation was passed in 2013 before the NDP was in power, but some sections have not yet been proclaimed into law. The Statutes Repeal Act stipulates that legislation not proclaimed in five years will expire and by the anti-smoking group’s estimates, that would be this December.
But Aaron Manton, press secretary for Health Minister Sarah Hoffman, said Friday there are some nuances with the timing and the government actually has until December 2019 to proclaim each piece of the legislation. He says Alberta Health is still reviewing the unproclaimed statutes.
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Les Hagen, spokesman for Campaign for a Smoke-Free Alberta, said Thursday he is concerned about the lack of regulation around the use of shisha and hookah in public places, the continued sale of flavoured tobacco, sales to minors and the fact that vaping by teenagers has exploded in Alberta.
“Alberta is only one of two remaining provinces that have not implemented legislation to deal with vaping among youth.
“The rate of vaping among high school students in Alberta is now considerably higher than the rate of tobacco use.”
According to the Canadian Student Tobacco and Drugs Survey, the rate of vaping among Alberta high school students more than doubled between 2015 and 2017.
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The survey of 9,400 Alberta youth found 22 per cent said they’d vaped inside a 30-day period in 2017, up from just eight per cent in 2015.
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A coalition of health groups — including the Canadian Cancer Society and Action on Smoking and Health — are worried alluring, high-nicotine “stealth” vaping devices could increase rates even more.
“The market is now flooded with products that appeal to kids, products that are flavoured, products that are easy to conceal and look like little USB memory sticks,” said Angeline Webb of the Canadian Cancer Society, Alberta/NWT Division.
“Alberta youth deserve first-class protection from tobacco companies and their deadly and addictive products. We implore the provincial government to protect Alberta youth by proclaiming the outstanding legislation at its next cabinet meeting.”
It’s believed 28,000 school-aged youth are using tobacco products in Alberta.
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“Some of these products are actually targeted to teens,” Hagen said. “If you look at the new Juuls that were just launched, for example, they’re very appealing, they produce very high levels of nicotine and they’re very easy to conceal. So it’s a huge trend, a negative trend, and something the Alberta government must respond to.”
The devices even have a trendy Instagram page.
One Juul cartridge has as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.
Watch – Apr 11, 2018: It’s available in the U.S. but some Canadian students are finding ways to bring JUUL north of the border. As Erica Vella reports, health experts are advising teenagers to steer clear of e-cigarettes.
In a news release the group said, “The tobacco industry continues to aggressively lobby the Alberta government and it has even hired the premier’s former press secretary to fight tobacco regulation.”
“To date, the government has refused to disclose the details of meetings and discussions with tobacco lobbyists since it took office in May 2015,” the release read.
The coalition is sending an open letter to Premier Notley urging the government to proclaim the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act as soon as possible.
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Hagen said a simple cabinet meeting would get these sections enacted to protect thousands of Alberta youth.
“Major sections of that legislation were made unproclaimed, including an important section that would treat vaping the same way we treat smoking, with the same restrictions on smoking in public and in work places,” Hagen said.
The group is also calling attention to omissions in federal Bill S-5.
“Carding kids when they’re making purchase attempts, providing mandatory training for retailers, limiting how these products can be promoted,” Hagen said. “They shouldn’t be allowed to be promoted in retail stores and along with the candy and youth-related items sold in convenience stores.”
— With files from Emily Mertz, Global News
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