The City of Edmonton is looking at how to limit the influence of vaping in ways federal and provincial legislation doesn’t.
Ward 10 Councillor Michael Walters asked staff on Tuesday what else could be done to discourage the promotion of vaping products to minors.
“Advertising for vaping has been a bit too prolific and aggressive in areas where kids are hanging out,” Walters said.
“When we see youth going into vaping shops and leaving with vaping equipment, we should ask some questions about that.”
The Canadian Cancer Society believes legislation has lagged behind the teen vaping trend.
For example, federal legislation does not mandate ID checks for vaping customers who appear under 25.
Only Alberta and Saskatchewan do not have provincial regulations for vaping, leaving federal rules to do most of the work.
“They do that for liquor, they do that for cannabis, they're supposed to do that for tobacco—don’t know if they do—but they don't do it at all for vaping,” said Angeline Webb with the Canadian Cancer Society.
“Kudos to the City of Edmonton for even thinking about this. That's forward thinking and best practice when it comes to public health.”
A 2017 youth survey found one in five Alberta high school students vape.
Webb said Alberta is “letting the genie out of the bottle when it comes to maybe the likelihood of increasing tobacco use among kids.”
The most the city could do, according to Walters, is strengthen enforcement and crack down on advertising.
The report he requested is due in June.
With files from Jeremy Thompson
