Canada’s war on nicotine has reached an extreme burden. With a 124% tax hike, sweeping flavor bans, and a “nicotine control” agenda, millions of adult vapers are in danger of being pushed back to smoking. Shot on location at GFN 2025 in Warsaw, Sam Tam, president of the Canadian Vaping Association, warns that misguided policies are destroying small businesses, fueling the black market, and undermining Canada’s smoke-free future.
Featuring:
Sam Tam
President, Canadian Vaping Association
Canadian Vaping Association on X.com
Canadian Vaping Association Website
Transcription:
00:10 - 00:43
[Brent Stafford]
Hi everybody, I'm Brent Stafford and welcome to another edition of RegWatch on GFN.TV. We're here in Warsaw, Poland for the 12th edition of the Global Forum on Nicotine, the annual conference on safer nicotine products and tobacco harm reduction. Joining us in this episode will be Sam Tam, a longtime advocate for safer nicotine products in Canada and the spokesperson for the Canadian Vaping Association. Let's start off with Canada, like big picture. What's going on in the Canadian landscape?
00:44 - 01:39
[Sam Tam]
Well, I think we're starting to see a major change in Canada. I think that the federal government is taking a different approach when it comes to vaping. I think I've highlighted this before. In 2023, Health Canada changed their approach to recognize that vaping is a harm reduction tool that millions of Canadians are using and that they've decided that their new strategy would be to incorporate harm reduction as part of their strategy to reduce smoking rate in Canada. So I think we've talked about this before, right? The government wants to change our behavior to save lives, meet people where they are, and ensure that no people are left behind. And there is a really great opportunity for Canada to be the third country in the world to be smoke-free. And I think that that's the approach that Health Canada wants to take, and we have to support that.
01:39 - 01:46
[Brent Stafford]
Now, there has been a lot of progress when it comes to smoking in Canada, has there not? Absolutely.
01:46 - 02:39
[Sam Tam]
Smoking rate has declined significantly. I think the data that was presented in 2023 was there was a 12% decline. And of course, what that really meant was 1.1 million people have quit smoking during a very short period of time from 2019 to 2022. And the government recognized, well, what's happening here? Why are so many people are quitting smoking? And recognize that there was a lot of people that were migrating and using less harmful alternative products like vaping. So there's a really great opportunity to continue to reduce smoking rate in this country. And I think vaping has an important role to play. It is the most effective harm reduction tool than any other product out there in the marketplace.
02:39 - 02:48
[Brent Stafford]
So I take it then that you're saying Health Canada recognizes vaping played a role in that reduction? Absolutely.
02:49 - 03:14
[Sam Tam]
I think the latest data shows there's 1.9 million adult Canadians today that are using vaping products. So that's a significant number compared to two years ago was 1.3 million. and this is going to continue to grow and if we're going to reach a less than 5% smoking rate by 2035, vaping is going to help take us there.
03:15 - 03:28
[Brent Stafford]
Help us understand the flavour ban situation because certainly while that's a good picture, there are provinces in the country that you can't get anything with flavours. That's right.
03:28 - 04:20
[Sam Tam]
In Canada, there are four provinces that have banned flavors in two territories. And, you know, it's quite sad. I mean, the outcome of that, of course, has been quite negative than positive. You know, for the government, it was, you know, a knee jerk reaction. at the provincial level for them to move forward through extensive lobbying from nicotine groups to do so. But this hasn't benefited them at all. We continue to see high smoking rates in those provinces. Youth vaping hasn't really declined in those provinces. People are still able to access vaping products through the illicit market, which has become a major problem. in Canada. So the intentions that they thought a flavor ban would solve had major unintended consequences that they didn't account for.
04:20 - 04:27
[Brent Stafford]
Has there been research showing in Quebec, for instance, a big province, that smoking has upticked?
04:28 - 05:47
[Sam Tam]
Yes, there was a market research survey that was done by Lejeune Market Research, and 36% of those that were surveyed returned back to smoking cigarettes. That is a major problem, right? This is an example of a policy failure from the Quebec government to enact a flavor ban. and didn't bring all stakeholders to the table to come up with better policies that would make sense to reduce youth vaping rate in that province. We've also seen 400 stores have closed, age-restricted, legal regulated stores closed because flavors played an instrumental role in smoking conversions. And we've seen a large portion of those stores have converted to convenience stores. And, you know, real reasons is, you know, these are small business owners that need to provide for their families financially. And they employ, you know, thousands of Canadians. And, you know, they have to pivot, right, to ensure that they don't lose everything that they have. But it has been very negative, even for consumers, right? Increased smoking rate, buying a list of products, you know, not, you know, you keep saying, you know, flavor bans don't solve youth vaping. It creates more problems.
05:48 - 06:07
[Brent Stafford]
I think that's really important, Sam. I mean, obviously, you know, we've worked closely together over the years and so few advocates talk about the stores and the business owners that operate those stores. I mean, that's a real major thing to happen when a flavor bank comes in.
06:07 - 07:29
[Sam Tam]
Absolutely. I think, you know, we've done a number of press conferences to highlight the impact. You know, back in December, after coming back from China, I did a press conference and highlight what major impact it would have on a $2 billion industry. And Flavor Bend isn't going to, we keep talking about it's not the answer to solving youth vaping, but we have to look at the greater impact, right? Tens of thousands of jobs employed by the sector, thousands of small businesses, 2,400 age-restricted vape stores across Canada. major impact but most important thing is you know when you ban flavors you you know you have to remember there is demand for this product and from history is when you ban something well where where are where are the consumers going to purchase the products that they're looking for well unfortunately not in a regulated legal products they're going to be finding products that are coming from the United States. They're going to buy a list of products. And I think the bigger picture is the government is the one that actually loses here because there's tax revenue impacted to the government and they're left with the mess created by nicotine control groups pushing these policies. Is the government always left with dealing with all the problems?
07:30 - 07:43
[Brent Stafford]
Now you bring up tax, of course, there was the federal excise tax, and then some of the bigger provinces jumped on and doubled that, right? They joined that tax regime. Fill me in on what actually has happened there.
07:43 - 09:05
[Sam Tam]
Yeah, so the provincial coordinated framework created some major problems, right? Not only in regards to the implementation, there's major complexity for a lot of a product licensees. Many of them have to take on tremendous risks, right? We have to remember these are majority small, medium sized businesses. they have to get new warehousing, incorporate additional costs in inventory, there's inventory risk involved. There's many factors at play here and they're giving a very limited time to comply. So there's major challenges there, but one of the most important aspect is, you know, the tax with the doubling of the tax rate has made vaping products as punitive as cigarettes taxes. So, you know, we've highlighted this to the government. The tax is quite substantial. I mean, vaping has received more than 124% increase in excise taxes and no other product has received an increase that high in 2024 when the budget, the 2024 budget highlighter will be additional 12 plus 12% increase. and doubling of the tax with the province that have joined, which is made up majority of the provinces now, that's 124% increase. No other product in the world or in Canada have subject to such increases.
09:06 - 09:16
[Brent Stafford]
That negates the entire reason for a lot of people to actually switch from smoking to vaping, which is the cost. That's what made me quit in 2015.
09:17 - 10:06
[Sam Tam]
You're right, Brett. Vaping is a harm reduction tool. In no way should it be taxed this high. And the reason why we are subject to such high taxation now is really the push from nicotine control groups when they present to the finance committee that vaping needs to be taxed to make it less affordable for youth. And we suggest this rate. And the rate that they suggested does not sound high until you do your calculations and realize that, wait a minute, we've just taxed vaping as much as cigarettes. Isn't that a problem? And there is no doubt the Canadian Vaping Association will address this to the government because vaping, if we are to seriously consider reaching a less than 5% goal, vaping needs to be affordable, not unaffordable for Canadians.
10:07 - 10:25
[Brent Stafford]
Sam, you just used a term that only in Canada, I think, is operational, nicotine control. I have not yet heard that in the US. I haven't heard it in Europe. But in Canada, I've even read that in print and CBC, nicotine control. Is that now the term?
10:27 - 12:47
[Sam Tam]
I believe so. The way I look at it is we've looked at what happened in Canada with pouches. There was a safer nicotine product that was created for the marketplace. There's some stringent therapeutic process when it comes to NRT products. There was really an opportunity for Canada to really reach the less than 5% goal much quicker with pouches. But unfortunately, that didn't happen. More restrictive policies on pouches and with the push on vaping is now we can see that these groups are targeting any product that is a safer option, a harm reduction tool. It's no-brainer that we can see that they are pushing more of a you either quit or you die strategy. There's no other option. There's no in-between. There's no harm reduction. It's either you quit smoking with smoking cessation tools or you don't. Right. So they don't believe in harm reduction tool. And unfortunately, that shouldn't be the case. Right. We should embrace safer nicotine options for those who are willing to quit smoking. And we shouldn't undermine those products. And what we've seen with pouches, the flavor abandoned pouches, the moving all the products away from convenience stores within a very short period of time. and then putting them in pharmacies. And I remember when I went to the pharmacist, they didn't even have the product available, right? And not all pharmacies did. It was a very slow process, but you have to remember there were a lot of people that are using this product. Where could they go? And it's really interesting because my insurance agent, he uses pouches, right? He's a full grown adult. He was telling me he was buying his pouches online from the United States because he couldn't get the flavors that he wanted. So we have to remind government when you create these policies, you know, you need to think a little bit more deeper because if there's a demand for the product, we don't want to drive consumers to buy potentially more dangerous product or illegal products or products that are not taxed where the government doesn't get their revenue. So, you know, government needs to take a different approach and, you know, invite all stakeholders to the table and create better policies for Canadians.
12:48 - 13:02
[Brent Stafford]
So let me ask you just about some of the comments that the Health Minister at the time made with regard to nicotine pouches because he was making it about vaping too as well. He said vaping kills and he said this from Parliament.
13:03 - 13:46
[Sam Tam]
Yeah, it's really important for politicians and ministers, people at high level of cabinet to choose their words carefully, right? Because there's a lot of misinformation being spread, right? There is no scientific data that shows that vaping or harm reduction tools kill. They are less harmful for a reason, right? And we always do that comparison, right? Smoking kills 45,000 Canadians each year, but vaping hasn't killed the Canadian soul. So it's really important that we encourage the new government to get all the facts and create policies that actually help the government achieve its goal.
13:47 - 13:53
[Brent Stafford]
So do you think that or have you seen any openings with the new Mark Carney government?
13:54 - 14:46
[Sam Tam]
I mean, the governments are very busy. We're hoping that there will be opportunity for us to have that discussion when it comes to addressing the rules of flavors, how important it is to addressing youth vaping. I think we're quite supportive when it comes to youth prevention and education. That's a very important component we've always been highlighting. to Health Canada that we're not doing enough before we think about restrictive regulations or flavor bans. We need to look at what tools do we have to help parents and teachers and coaches and educate youth about the risk of vaping, right? So, you know, I think there's an opportunity with the new, you know, federal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney's leadership to change that, right? To include a public-private partnership and invite all stakeholders to the table to create solutions for the government.
14:46 - 14:53
[Brent Stafford]
And you brought some materials here. I guess there has been at least some movement on the youth issue?
14:53 - 17:32
[Sam Tam]
Absolutely. I think the CVA, you know, last year and for many years actually have been advocating for more prevention and education tools from the government, you know, that before any restrictive policies and prohibitive policies, we asked the government to come out with, you know, new materials that would help parents to have those conversations with their youth, and especially teachers, and we hear it a lot. many parents don't know how what approach they should take to educate their youth and one of the most important things well what are we doing as you know government and industry and we suggest the government to come up with new tools right and one of the things I mentioned is we attend myself and one of my colleagues attended a really good really great webinar and it was presented by a doctor about approaches on teaching parents how to you know have that conversation with their youth that they find that they're vaping and, you know, the main topic, of course, as underage youth. And how do we provide them with information so they can make the best informed decision? And really, you know, every parent and I'm a parent of three kids myself is like, you know, we always like to start off with yelling at our kids, but that doesn't always work, right? You're all you're kind of distinct yourselves away from that connection. But I do want to highlight is Health Canada has updated their tools. And it's great. And we're calling on all stakeholders, you know, even nicotine control groups. They should be supporting this is we need to do more on education, right? Because we know that banning favors is not going to solve youth vaping. We need to find, have the great tools. And this is a great pamphlet here. Talk with your teens about vaping. Tip sheet for parents, right? This is specifically for parents because not all parents know how to handle or know or have enough information about vaping. And then you've got a plan for the youth that they could go through to start their journey to to to uh to quit right so not just this doesn't just only apply to vaping it applies to smoking as well so so it has a multiple purpose and of course a facilitator's guide which is iQuit for me, is to help your community groups, community leaders, teachers, parents, and coaches to design a complete program to help them educate youth at schools. So I think it's really important for us to get behind this. And I think by doing that, we're going to reduce underage youth vaping rates in our country, and the government needs our support to push this program.
17:33 - 17:49
[Brent Stafford]
One last thing on the flavor ban. I know that there was this national flavor ban that's been haunting Canada for a long time. And it's only just earlier this year that there was the announcement that it's on hold. Is it on hold? Could we expect to come back? Like what's happened there?
17:50 - 19:03
[Sam Tam]
Yeah, I think for now on the government's website under the forward regulatory plan, there's the, you know, to be determined approach, right? I really strongly feel that we can comfortably say that the government has identified that a flavor ban would cause more problems for the federal government, and mainly because there is a growing illicit trade, and we've seen this happening all over the world. When you have more restrictive policies and prohibitive policies, it fuels an opportunity for organized crime involvement as well. And I think what's really important is that that's been highlighted. The government is well aware of it. The government actually has a lot more information than most people would imagine. And that they are taking an approach where, you know, let's come up with better solutions. And I think they realized that if there was a flavor ban that gets enacted, the federal government will not be able to enforce the marketplace at all. We're starting to see that continue to grow in other parts of the world and it's growing in Canada as well and the government needs our support to address those issues.
19:04 - 19:06
[Brent Stafford]
Canada doesn't want to turn into Australia.
19:07 - 19:52
[Sam Tam]
Well, exactly, right? I think Mr. Sachs has mentioned before that they are evaluating what's happening in places like Australia, places around the world, what's happening in Quebec, right? That is a real problem, right? Something that the nicotine control groups are ignoring. They're not identified. There's this problem. But I think what's important is that this problem is real, right? And I'm quite surprised the media is not picking this up. I mean, they're singing the same tune as these groups, but the government knows what they're doing. And I strongly feel that they're not going to move forward with the flavor ban because the implications or the consequences is problematic, right?
19:52 - 20:01
[Brent Stafford]
It would be nice, I would imagine, though, for it to be removed from hanging over the head of the industry once and for all.
20:01 - 20:42
[Sam Tam]
Absolutely. I think we will continue to try to advocate for that. I think, you know, there's a lot of solutions that we can put forward and hence that's why we've called on the government to bring forward a vaping products review, invite all stakeholders to come to the table and provide real solutions that work. you know, something, you know, and remove any restrictive or prohibitive policies that are not going to help Canada to achieve its less than 5% smoking goal. I think we can do more together. And I think one of the key things we want to do, of course, as well, you know, if we are serious about reducing youth vaping, let's focus on the education prevention and see where that gets us.
20:43 - 20:58
[Brent Stafford]
For our viewers that are not from Canada, they're not going to have an idea about this Physicians for a Smoke-Free World. Is that what they are? Smoke-Free Canada. So tell us about them. Who are they and are they a legitimate group?
20:58 - 22:10
[Sam Tam]
Well, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada has physicians as part of their board of directors. And some of these people are prominent physicians here in Canada. And they're also considered, I would consider them as a lobby group on the nicotine control side of things. And they have done work in the past when it comes to tobacco control that were great in terms of you know, reducing smoking rate in our country. But, you know, we look at the 21st century, you know, they're not supportive of harm reduction, right? It's the quit or die approach. And they want to control nicotine. But, you know, nicotine, there's different types of product and, you know, you know, in terms of how it's being delivered and with safer nicotine products, they need to change their mindset to support that as opposed to go against it. I think they're doing as much as they can to undermine harm reduction and they should be supporting that, not encouraging the government to create restrictive policies.
22:11 - 22:17
[Brent Stafford]
Now isn't this one of the examples though where the government is funding an NGO to lobby the government?
22:19 - 22:58
[Sam Tam]
Yes. I mean, you know, I think someone should be evaluating in terms of, you know, money being, you know, the government funds these organizations to do work on research, right? It doesn't make sense that they're using government funding for lobbying the government for prohibitive policies. But most important, these policies create problems for the government that the government has recognized. So we would like to see some of their funding being used for other important initiatives like let's get behind the education prevention campaign. What can you do? How can we work together to reduce youth vaping rate in our country as opposed to going against each other?
22:59 - 23:06
[Brent Stafford]
So we're here in Warsaw, Poland for the Global Forum on Nicotine. What do you think of the conference and what are you hoping to get out of it?
23:07 - 25:21
[Sam Tam]
I think the conference, the important part is we talk about the science that is available today. Vaping, of course, there's a significant amount of science out there that shows that vaping is a safer option for a lot of adult smokers. This is a forum that brings together all experts, whether on the academic side or on the scientific side, and even doctors and a lot of people. And I think we can learn from each other and help one another to cope with those challenges that we're facing globally. And what about in Canada? Where do you think the future lies? I think the future is bright for Canada. I think there needs to be more engagement there. I think we're starting to see that the government is willing to adopt a public-private partnership with all stakeholders, right? And I think Canada's unique because, and Brendan, you're quite familiar with this, We talk about Canada's approach and one of the most significant part is understanding the lived experience for those that have quit smoking using vaping products. Let's not forget there's 1.9 million adults that are using vaping products and there's many more that are using other safer nicotine options. They can't be left behind. And I think one of the important aspects is if there's a willingness for the government to change behaviour to save lives and meet people where they are, they have to be a focal point. There's still today a large number, more than 3.5 million Canadians still continue to smoke. in Canada what are we doing all right to convert more people to use less harmful products but at the same time the government needs to look at well we have a large population that are using these products you know we should not create policies that are going to impact right their harm reduction journey so something that the org and nicotine control groups are pushing for instance like the flavor ban would have detrimental impact to those 1.9 million users