Will British Columbia be the world’s second jurisdiction to require plain packaging of e-cigarettes?
From Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada:
There may be a very important sleeper among the suite of measures to address youth vaping announced by the British Columbia government in July. One of the regulations introduced by minister of health Adrian Dix is a requirement that all vaping liquids be sold in plainish packages by mid-September. The regulation does not apply to packaging of the devices, but only on the packages that contain substances that produce a vapour.
Only one country – Israel – has so far required that e-cigarette liquids be packaged in standardized packaging. Denmark introduced legislation to adopt this measure in January, but study of the bill appears to have been postponed. The Netherlands has plans to require plain packaging for e-cigarettes in 2022.
Short and sweet
This new measure is included in an Order in Council adopted by the B.C. cabinet earlier this week (July 20th OIC 426). Section 8 of the new E-Substances Regulation is clear and precise. In less than 200 words, it prohibits any text or imagery that is not specifically permitted or required under federal or provincial laws. (By comparison, the the federal plain packaging regulations for tobacco products take almost 9,000 words).
Packaging standards
8 (1) Subject to any enactment of Canada, a retailer must not sell a restricted e-substance unless the product is packaged in a plain manner that does not contain any text or image other than as required or permitted under this section.(2) A retailer must not sell a restricted e-substance unless the package
(a) states the concentration of non-therapeutic nicotine in the restricted e-substance,
(b) states the total volume of restricted e-substance within the package or, if the package includes multiple cartridges or containers, the volume of restricted e-substance held or that may be held in each cartridge or container,
(c) states “WARNING: nicotine is highly addictive”, and (d) shows the warning symbol set out in the Schedule.(3) A retailer is permitted to sell a restricted e-substance in a package that states one or more of the following:
(a) the name and contact information of the manufacturer;
(b) the brand name and product name;
(c) the type of product.