Concerns about minors' access to vaping products are growing in Windsor-Essex, and the health department wants the province to impose additional penalties on retailers who sell vaping products to minors. There is.
At a meeting Thursday, the Windsor-Essex County Health Department agreed to ask the province to treat noncompliant vape shops the same as tobacco retail stores.
Eric Nadarin, the department's public health program director, said data from the 2023 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey shows that 25.6 per cent of youth who purchased vaping products in the region did so through a local store. It has been suggested that.
The study also suggested that 43.4% of visits came from friends and relatives, but Nadalin said the 25.6% of visits from stores was a worrying number.
“We know that selling to anyone under 19 is illegal, and retailers know that, and we go to great lengths to educate them about that regulation,” Nadalin told CBC News.
“So when retailers sell e-cigarette products to young people, they are either knowingly selling to them or knowingly choosing not to ask for identification.”
“When retailers sell e-cigarette products to youth, they are either knowingly doing so or knowingly choosing not to ask for identification,” said Eric Nadalin, public health program director for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. (Kathleen Saylors/CBC)
Tobacco stores that violate state regulations twice in five years will be suspended from selling products for a certain period of time. E-cigarette retailers will face increased fines, but there will be no long-term consequences. Health officials plan to send a letter to the state by the end of this week asking for changes to the rules.
Nadalin said if the state approves the health department's request to limit a retailer's ability to sell in the event of multiple violations within a short period of time, it would “help promote regulatory compliance.”
The health department has five tobacco and e-cigarette enforcement officers responsible for 1,500 to 2,000 inspections each year.
Last year, out of 332 inspections of vape shops, 20 resulted in charges related to shops selling to people under 19 years of age.
“While this is very concerning to us, it points to a small number of store owners in our community who are not complying with Ontario's Tobacco Tobacco Act, including e-cigarette regulations. product,” Nadalin said.
Vape shop manager says there are too many restrictions
Bravo Vape general manager Joseph Gonsalves said the government has already established that selling e-cigarette and tobacco products to minors is illegal, and that should be enough.
“I think there are too many restrictions on life as it stands,” he said.
“I say no to further restrictions. We know right from wrong. It is illegal to sell to minors and that is our intention. We do not sell to minors. We don't want to sell it. We don't need any restrictions.”
Bravo Vape has been in operation since July of last year, and Gonsalves said he was once charged with selling to a minor.
The city has the option of suspending the license.
The City of Windsor Licensing Board has the option to suspend the municipal business licenses of businesses that habitually operate in bad faith or in violation of the law.
However, District 7 Health committee member Angelo Marignani said he believes “more can be done in the health sector.”
Marignani said the state's favorable response would “put a brake” on the law when it comes to e-cigarettes and their products being sold to minors.
“We have health laws so you can't sell to minors. If you choose to sell to minors, you have to deal with the consequences,” he said.
Marignani warns children in the area: “Don't start vaping. Plain and simple. It's a dirty habit. We don't know the long-term effects of it and it's not something you should do. Instead, go outside and enjoy this beautiful day.” ”
