E-cigarette restrictions not soon enough: Gélinas

New legislation that would impose the same restrictions on e-cigarettes, as those that already exist for cigarettes, does not come into effect soon enough, says Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas.

“Why wait until 2017 before acting?” Gélinas said. “Let's pass this part of the bill right now.”

The provincial Liberals introduced the new e-cigarettes legislation Monday, but until Jan. 1, 2017 e-cigarette users will be able to “vape” wherever they want.

After that date, e-cigarette usage will not be allowed in any buildings open to the public, or anywhere else where smoking is excluded.

Gélinas said the limitations on e-cigarettes could be imposed as early as next March.

“I've dealt with this industry for a long time, and to give them a three year head start ... a lot of things could happen between now and 2017 that will render the bill not effective,” she said.

The Making Healthier Choices Act, 2014 would also ban the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 19.

“I'm pleased that they recognized that the use of e-cigarettes is a way that is directly linked to the normalization of smoking again,” Gélinas said “We have spent a lot of time denormalizing smoking so that when kids grow up they don't think that smoking is just normal. All of this is going out the window with e-cigarettes.”

Anne Gervais, part-owner of Pete's Puff n' Stuff, a kiosk in the Rainbow Centre that sells e-cigarettes, said she agrees with the ban on selling e-cigarettes to minors, but said the act's other sections are too restrictive.

“E-cigarettes are a vapour and they dissipate in the air,” Gervais said. “There's no second-hand smoke, there's not a cloud lingering for someone else to inhale.”

E-cigarettes release a vapour that usually contains vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, flavouring, and in some cases, nicotine.

Health Canada has not approved the devices, and if they make any health claims, or contain nicotine, they are technically illegal.

Some of Pete's Puff n' Stuff's e-cigarettes do contain nicotine in varying amounts, depending on how often the individual smoked before trying e-cigarettes. The amounts range from six milligrams to 24 milligrams for heavy smokers.

The liquids for the e-cigarettes, manufactured by Canadian company Gold Seal eJuice, come in more than 50 flavours that range from “tasty tobacco,” to sweeter varieties such as “pretty in pink cotton candy”, “sweet banana” and “American apple pie.”

Gervais said she sees the devices as smoking cessation aids.

“I would rather see everyone just quit (smoking), but I was one of the ones who couldn't, and this worked for me,” she said. “If they pass that legislation they're boxing in the people who are trying to get healthier.”

Gervais said she discourages people who are not smokers from trying e-cigarettes.

Because e-cigarettes are still relatively new – and were only introduced to Canada around 2007 – studies on their long-term health effects remain inconclusive.

But Gervais said she has no doubts they are healthier than cigarettes.

“They're not inhaling the tar that paves our roads. They're not inhaling formaldehyde and arsenic and all that other stuff,” she said about e-cigarette users.

In addition to new restrictions on e-cigarettes, the province's Making Healthier Choices Act, 2014 would also ban the sale of flavoured tobacco products by Jan. 1, 2016, and the sale of menthol cigarettes by Jan. 1, 2017.