Pubdate: Fri, 11 Mar 2016
Source: Record, The (Kitchener, CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.therecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225
Author: Anam Latif
Page: A1

NEW RULES BY ONTARIO FOR E-CIGS AIM TO CURB USE IN YOUTH

Local shop owners unhappy with legislation

KITCHENER - The province has proposed stricter rules on the sale of
e-cigarettes, as well as a sweeping ban on the use of e-cigarettes and
medical marijuana in public places where smoking is already prohibited.

It comes on the heels of a January ban on flavoured tobacco products.
Protection from secondhand smoke in public places and curbing the
appeal of e-cigarettes to youth are the main drivers of the Smoke Free
Ontario Act's newest proposed amendments.

Local e-cigarette users and shopkeepers are displeased by the new
legislation, which may also ban the testing of e-cigarettes in stores
where they are sold.

"I'm really upset about this today," said Eli Roszell, an employee at
UC Vapes, an e-cigarette shop in downtown Kitchener.

He said without allowing customers to taste the different flavoured
liquids available for e-cigarette devices, he might as well work in a
"warehouse with a till."

The shop has tiny bottles of flavoured liquids stocked in neat rows on
display shelves.

New rules could also curb how e-cigarettes and flavoured liquids are
displayed in stores.

"I can't teach people how to use them, =C2=85 I can't educate them in ord
er
to keep them safe," Roszell said.

For David Hammond, an associate professor in the School of Public
Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo, the new rules
address concerns most people have about e-cigarettes.

People worry about the use of e-cigarettes by youth, he said. So a
proposal to restrict the promotion of e-cigarettes is a step in the
right direction.

"Ontario stepped in (with rules) in the absence of federal
regulations," Hammond said.

Roszell said his biggest concern is the lack of medical studies
available on the harms and benefits on e-cigarettes.

"They've assumed vaping is bad without even proving it," he
added.

Many users praise them as an aid to quit smoking cigarettes, but the
long-term health effects of the fairly new devices are mostly unknown.

Hammond is leading a study to determine what those impacts might be.
It's the first study of its kind in Canada and is funded by the
Ministry of Health.

"We need to learn more about the types of products in the market," he
said.

"We also need to look at whether e-cigarettes can be used as a
harm-reduction tool."

Medical marijuana users are also upset the Liberals have backtracked
on regulations that would have exempted medical cannabis users from
public smoking bans for e-cigarettes.

Jonathan Zaid, the founder of Canadians for Fair Access to Medical
Marijuana, said he was disappointed with the reversal on Thursday.

"I thought the government was willing to work with medical cannabis
users to create a regulation and an exemption that works for both the
public health and public safety and medical marijuana users, but it
seems like this backtrack has kind of made it fully inaccessible for
people to use their medicine, which I believe is against their human
rights."

The new regulations are now posted for consultation for the next 45
days. Damerla would not rule out more changes to the rules after that
time.

- - With files from Canadian Press
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt