The BC Lung Association applauds BC leadership on issue of e-cigarettes
Today, the BC government announced new proposed amendments to the Tobacco Control Act to regulate e-cigarettes. This legislation will help stop the growing use of e-cigarettes by young people in BC.
The BC Lung Association applauds the BC government’s leadership on the issue.
In addition to banning e-cigarette use in public areas, this cautionary measure will prohibit the display, marketing and sale of e-cigarettes to minors.
According to Veda Peters, Tobacco Education Coordinator, BC Lung Association, "The fact is e-cigarettes have not been proven effective as a quit smoking aid. Because e-cigarettes are unregulated, there is no quality or safety assurance, no labeling requirements, and no measures to ensure they are being kept out of the hands of minors.”
“The ‘e-juice’ used in e-cigarettes contains unknown, unregulated and potentially harmful substances that users are inhaling deep into their lungs. Until more is known, we need to proceed with caution by applying the same standards and restrictions to e-cigarettes as we do to traditional cigarettes.” added Peters.
These medical concerns, in combination with a need to halt “re-normalization” of the act of smoking among youth could set back decades of hard work of limiting tobacco use from public view, a tactic which is credited with a large part in helping BC achieve the lowest smoking rate in Canada.
The BC Lung Association commends the BC government for their insight in amending the Tobacco Control Act as an important step towards maintaining progress made on the anti-tobacco frontlines, and continuing to work towards a smoke-free BC.
Katrina van Bylandt
Communications Manager
BC Lung Association
T 604.731.5864
E vanbylandt@bc.lung.ca