More people vaping after Quebec banned all flavours a year ago

It’s been one year since Quebec banned flavour vapes, and the vaping results are unfavourable according to a survey by Léger.

The data shows that 30 per cent of young people currently vape and 36 per cent of vapers have started smoking again.

The Coalition des droits des vapoteurs du Québec (CDVQ) says that this situation could have been avoided if Health Minister Christian Dubé acted rationally instead of relying on the opinion of Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control co-director Flory Doucas.

The CDVQ wants Dubé and Doucas to share their plan to reverse this ‘disturbing’ trend.

“A year after banning vape flavours, young people are vaping more than ever and adult vapers have started smoking again,” said CDVQ spokesperson Valerie Gallant. “Contraband products have invaded the market, resulting in dangerous products ending up in the hands of Quebecers. Minister Dubé must bring his lobbyists and civil servants in line so that they can find a thoughtful solution to this public health problem right now.”

Recently, there has been some pressure, including from Doucas’s group who asked the federal government in October to copy Quebec and ban vaping flavours nationwide.

Doucas called for federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks to resign, but not everyone agrees.

“Minister Saks seems to be the only adult in the room. Instead, people like Doucas insult and demand that she be replaced by her male colleague, who is just as irrational and emotional as they are. She must not give in to this shameless blackmail, stick to the facts, and avoid a pan-Canadian disaster,” said Gallant.