Canadian C-Stores Guard Against Youth Vaping
Minors are more likely to obtain vaping products from friends or vape shops, a survey finds.
Feb 28, 2020
TORONTO—Canadian convenience stores are the least common source of vaping products for youth, according to the recently released “2019 Drug Use Among Ontario Students Report” from The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Borrowing from a friend topped the list (53.7%). Buying from a friend or someone else (11.2%) and purchasing from a specialty vape store (9.7%) rounded out the top three sources of vaping products for youth. By contrast, the number of underage people accessing vapor products from convenience stores was so low that it didn't even make the list.
“This data confirms what [we’ve] been saying for months: Convenience stores are not the source of vaping products for youth, and this report makes the Ontario government's targeting of convenience stores in their attempt to address the youth vaping problem all the more baffling,” said Anne Kothawala, president and CEO of the Convenience Industry Council of Canada (CICC).
Currently, the Ontario government is considering both a flavor ban and a nicotine cap for the sale of vapor products sold in convenience stores but not specialty vape shops or online retailers.
“While we fully support any efforts to combat the increase in youth vaping, restricting the ability of convenience stores to offer these products to their adult consumers is not only misguided, it is dangerous public policy,” said Kothawala.
“Restricting the sale of vaping products in convenience stores will do nothing to combat the rise of youth vaping since it does not address the actual source of the problem. All this will do is force our adult customers of vaping products back to cigarettes. The facts are clear, our member convenience stores keep vape products out of the hands of youth. Until the government address online sales or vape shops, we will never get to the bottom of youth vaping.”
