Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

‘While differing a bit from what we had called for, by and large, BC’s vaping action plan is a good start’ -– BC Liberal MLA Todd Stone (Kamloops South Thompson)



Late last November the BC Liberal Opposition introduced three amendments to the government’s Taxation Statutes Amendment Act.  These changes all focused on transparency and accountability, which would have either created a designated education fund from vaping PST revenue, put all revenues into the existing Special Health Account.  At a minimum, it would have required an annual report to the legislature -- of total PST revenue collected -- and how the revenue was spent.

Regrettably, the NDP said no to all three of these proposed amendments at the time.  Still, Kamloops South Thompson BC Liberal MLA Todd Stone expressed cautious optimism that actions were beginning to unfold.

Moving forward, we will be vigilant in holding the government accountable for implementing the anti-youth vaping actions quickly,” stated Stone.


We will monitor the effectiveness of the government’s decision not to proceed with an outright ban on flavoured vaping products, and advocate for the necessary resources to be invested in education programs related to awareness, prevention and addiction support in every middle and high school across BC.”

Eight months later, the provincial government has now announced they’ll be bringing into force regulations to fully implement what they are calling a leading-edge vaping action plan, which they announced back in November – and for which proposed amendments by Liberals had been rejected.

The new regulations will restrict the content, flavour, packaging, advertising and sale of vapour products in British Columbia. B.C.’s ministries of Health and Education will also establish a provincial youth advisory council to develop, pilot and launch youth-informed strategies to reduce vaping by young people.

We heard from young people across the province that vaping companies are targeting them with a product that poses real and serious health and addiction risks,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.

That’s why we are bringing in regulations to keep vapour products away from developing lungs and to prevent nicotine addiction. We know youth are eager to get involved in this action, and I’ve seen promising work through early youth engagement to help influence their peers and stop this dangerous trend of addiction.”

Today, Todd Stone told me that ... “While differing a bit from what we had called for, by and large, B.C.’s vaping action plan is a good start”.

That good start means that new E-Substances Regulation, under the Public Health Act, will restrict the amount of nicotine in vapour pods and liquid to 20mg/ml, and requires retailers to sell only those vapour products that are plainly packaged and have labels with health warnings.

New retailers planning to sell vape products will need to comply with the regulation immediately. Existing vapour-product retailers will have a short transition period until Sept. 15, 2020.

The regulation immediately prohibits all retailers from selling non-nicotine or nicotine-cannabis blended vapour products.

Changes to the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Regulation ban advertising of vapour products in places where youth can access, hear or see advertisements, such as bus shelters or community parks. They also restrict the sale of flavoured vapour products, which are attractive to youth, to adult-only shops.

Other non-regulatory action under the Province’s vaping action plan, includes a youth-led anti-vaping social media campaign to de-normalize vaping. Youth throughout B.C. were engaged through regional youth advisory tables, to provide guidance for the “evaporate” campaign. Launched in February 2020, the campaign has so far garnered over 27 million digital impressions.

With provincial support, last year the BC Lung Association created and distributed a youth vaping prevention toolkit to all K-12 schools in British Columbia. The toolkit provides information for educators, parents and youth to use when having discussions and making choices about vaping.

We will monitor the situation to ensure the plan keeps these addictive and harmful products out of the hands of our kids”, stated Todd Stone late this afternoon.

"They deserve nothing less.”, Stone concluded.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

PEATS: I am writing with a critical concern regarding the imminent closure of the Eljen Medical Clinic, a vital healthcare facility in our community

The following is a copy of a letter sent to me, which was sent to BC’s Minister of Health Adrian Dix. It is with regards to the impending closure of the Eljen Medical Clinic in Dawson Creek.   Dear Minister,   I am writing to you today with a critical concern regarding the imminent closure of the Eljen Medical Clinic, a vital healthcare facility in our community. The closure, scheduled for the summer of 2024, is a result of the utterly burdensome terms and conditions imposed by the bureaucratic Northern Health. As a result, Dawson Creek stands to lose four doctors who have made this city their home, and who wish to continue serving the people of our community.   The impending closure of the Eljen Medical Clinic is a significant blow to our city. Not only will it result in the loss of highly qualified and dedicated healthcare professionals, but it will also deprive thousands of Dawson Creek residents of access to their primary physicians. At a time when healthcare se

Selina Robinson: "You broke my heart . . ." (The Real Story)

The mildly Zionist, innocuously leftish and now ousted advanced education minister’s letter to her New Democratic Party caucus colleagues, explaining why she has resigned the caucus to sit as an independent. The letter is an historic document, an artifact of the disgraceful cultural moment we’re living through. It’s important. It’s also a scorcher. It’s gathering a heck of a lot of attention . I’m printing it in full here. I’ve been insisting that what happened to Robinson is a much bigger deal and a completely different story than the one we’d all been led to believe. The necessary background: My piece in the National Post: The despicable untruths behind Selina Robinson's political lynching . More importantly , a Real Story investigation: The Problem With The Selina Robinson Story. . . It wasn't true. What follows is the story of what really happened. Let’s just get into it. Apart from punctuation and spelling I replicate the letter faithfully, with some further comm

Long-time former BC Liberal supporter says, I am definitely not hanging in there with BC United

                              BC United leader Kevin Falcon I recently asked a political acquaintance of mine, about their current involvement with BC United.   I was much surprised with the response given the BC Liberals had been the recipient of a lot of their time and energy in the past. By request, their comments are posted anonymously : I am definitely not hanging in there with BC United. Kevin’s poor judgement in ousting John Rustad from Caucus, and then publicly humiliating him, might be the most inept thing I have seen in BC politics ... and I’ve been involved in BC politics for a number of years! I still think the impetus was John‘s involvement in the Ellis Ross leadership campaign for the BC Liberal Party, and how successful and respected (despite not winning) it was. I am uncertain about the tenor of the current Conservative movement in North America. The once proud Republican Party in the United States has allowed itself to be led by a person who is morally, intell

Labels

Show more