Province extends flavoured vape ban to cannabis products

The provincial government's pending ban on flavoured vape itemswill alsoapplyto cannabis products.

A day after Health Minister Randy Delorey said the government would ban flavoured e-cigarettes and vape juices on April 1, Finance Minister Karen Casey announced the ban would extend to flavoured cannabis vaping products when they become available in the new year.

"Given the increasing amount of vape-related illness in Canada and the U.S., and the negative effects cannabis can have on youth, we need to do everything we can to make sure these products do not appeal to younger Nova Scotians," Casey said in a news release.

The change will be made via regulation and will apply to any cannabis vapeproduct that has "a scent or flavour other than cannabis noticeable before or during use," according to the release.

"No synthetic flavouring will be allowed. Packaging and labelling will also be prohibited from mentioning a flavour other than cannabis."

Targeting youth vaping rates

The changes announced this week are in response to mounting concerns about teen vape use and the related health effects.

A Smoke-Free Nova Scotia survey found that 95 per cent of young people in the province who vape prefer flavoured products and almost half of those people said they would quit if flavours were not available.

Cannabis edibles, extracts and topicals, which will only be legally available at Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation outlets, became legal in Canada on Oct. 17, but the products are subject to a 60-day notice period by Health Canada.

According to the news release, NSLC outlets will have a small supply of products, other than flavoured vaping products, in late December, with more gradually being added in the new year.

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