Double Down on Education, Not Flavour Bans: CVA Responds to Misinformation from Nicotine Control Groups

Toronto, ON, Oct. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Vaping Association urges provincial and federal health ministers to focus on youth prevention and education programs that provide a pathway for youth to quit vaping and smoking.  

"It is deeply concerning witnessing certain nicotine control groups and Alberta students lobbying the government for prohibitionist policies rather than offering solutions to address youth vaping.  Rather than reducing harm, restrictive policies of this nature have consistently fuelled the growth of an illicit market, which operates without regulation and often with more dangerous, high-strength products,” says Sam Tam, President of the Canadian Vaping Association, “removing regulated harm reduction options leaves adult smokers with nowhere to turn except back to tobacco use, which kills 1 in every 2 users, and is the leading cause of preventable death in Canada.  This move would undo decades of progress made by the federal government in reducing smoking rates and jeopardizes Canada’s goal of achieving less than 5% tobacco use by 2035.” 
 
Youth Vaping Is Declining  

The recent claim from a nicotine control group that states “over 300,000 youth under 18 use nicotine products every 30 days” misrepresents national data. According to Statistics Canada’s 2025 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, past-30-day vaping among Canadians aged 12–17 fell to 7.2% a nearly 50% reduction from the 13.2% peak in 2019 (Statistics Canada, 2025). This decline was also acknowledged in Health Canada’s Third Legislative Review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act Discussion Paper (Health Canada, 2025).  

Canada’s youth vaping rate decline proves that education, not prohibition, is the most effective way to reduce youth vaping rates. The CVA fully supports Health Canada’s initiatives on youth vaping prevention and education, including the “I Quit for Me” Program and other cessations and educational resources for youth who want to quit using tobacco, cigarettes or vaping products (Health Canada, 2025). Earlier this year, the CVA distributed comprehensive materials from this program to 113 school boards across Ontario and Alberta, helping parents, teachers, and coaches to guide youth toward better informed choices. The CVA has urged nicotine control groups to promote the program instead of lobbying the government for prohibitionist policies.  

Flavours are Essential for Adult Smoking Cessation 
 
Evidence consistently shows that flavoured vaping products are vital for helping adults quit smoking. A 2025 study published by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Nicotine Vaping Products During an Attempt to Quit Smoking Among Adults, found that many adults successfully switched from cigarettes to vaping by using flavours other than tobacco, mint, or menthol during their transition.  
 
Multiple independent studies (including research from McGill University, Public Health England, and a 2025 Cochrane Review) confirm that vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking and remains one of the most effective harm-reduction tools available. (Levett et al., 2023; Public Health England, 2023; Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, 2025).  
 
McGill researchers found that nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective for quitting smoking than traditional nicotine replacement or behavioural therapies. Yet flavour bans would undermine this progress, risking relapse among 1.9 million adult vapers (Statistics Canada, 2025). A ban would also threaten tens of thousands of jobs within Canada’s legal, regulated vaping industry and its associated sectors, impacting thousands of small businesses and the families they support. The legal vaping industry also contributes approximately $500 million each year in excise tax, helping fund essential government programs.

Prohibition only increases illicit activities which puts public health and our youth at even more risk 
 
Canada’s regulated vaping industry stands as Canada’s last line of defense against illicit products. If the legal market collapses due to the economic fallout of prohibitionist policy, Canadians will inevitably turn to the black market where the illicit sellers don’t check ID or comply with flavour bans. Every time a legal, age-restricted vape product is banned, an illegal one takes its place. 
 
“Our path forward must combine education, support, and sensible regulations. Let's get behind Health Canada's resources, which give parents, community members, and teens themselves the facts about the risks and, most importantly, real support to help them quit’” says Sam Tam. 

The Canadian Vaping Association remains committed to working with government partners to address misinformation about vaping, support enforcement and promote evidence-based policies under the TVPA to further protect youth while supporting adult smokers in their transition away from combustible tobacco.  

References: 

Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group (2025) Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD010216_can-electronic-cigarettes-help-people-stop-smoking-and-do-they-have-any-unwanted-effects-when-used 
 
Health Canada (2025) Health indicator statistics, annual estimates https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1310090501 

Health Canada (2025) I Quit for Me – Youth cessation and prevention program  
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/i-quit-for-me-guide-youth.html 

Health Canada (2025) Third Legislative Review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act: Discussion Paper https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/programs/consultation-third-legislative-review-tobacco-vaping-products-act/document.html 

Health Canada (2025) Youth vaping prevention and cessation resources  
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/smoking-tobacco/vaping/awareness-resources.html 

Levett (2023) Efficacy and Safety of E-Cigarette Use for Smoking Cessation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Efficacy and Safety of E-Cigarette Use for Smoking Cessation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials - PubMed 

Public Health Agency of Canada (2025) At-a-glance – Use of nicotine vaping products during an attempt to quit smoking by Canadian adults who smoke or recently quit: findings from the 2022 Canada International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/health-promotion-chronic-disease-prevention-canada-research-policy-practice/vol-45-no-1-2025/nicotine-vaping-products-during-attempt-quit-smoking-adults-findings-survey.html 
 
Public Health England (2022) Nicotine vaping in England: 2022 evidence update summary 
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nicotine-vaping-in-england-2022-evidence-update/nicotine-vaping-in-england-2022-evidence-update-summary 
 
Statistics Canada (2025) Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth – Vaping data summary  
https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5233 

Statistics Canada (2025) Table 13-10-0905-01: Health indicator statistics, annual estimates  https://doi.org/10.25318/1310090501-eng 

Sam Tam
The Canadian Vaping Association 
647-271-7629
stam@thecva.org

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