Smoking electronic cigarettes, or vaping, could soon be banned wherever lighting up conventional cigarettes is off-limits.
Toronto's Board of Health voted on Monday to ask the Ontario government to ban the use of e-cigarettes wherever smoking is not allowed.
The board has given the province six months to put together regulations over the vapour-producing products. If the Ontario government does not amend the provincial legislation by February, the city will explore going ahead with its own ban at the municipal level.
Monday's decision follows a report released earlier this month which recommends an e-cigarette ban in public places. The report, written by Toronto Medical Officer of Health David McKeown, also recommends prohibiting the sale of flavoured e-cigarette products and banning e-cigarette displays in stores.
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that mimic the use, appearance and taste of conventional cigarettes.
Those that contain nicotine are regulated under the federal Food and Drugs Act. They claim to help users quit smoking. But according to McKeown's report, there are possible risks associated with second-hand vapour, and handling of the e-cigarette’s liquid solutions.
These possible risks point to a need for more research, Lilian Riad-Allen, a Centre for Addiction and Mental Health worker, says,
"More research would need to happen in this area so that we aren't repeating the mistakes of our past and making more people in a new generation addiction to tobacco," Riad-Allen told CP24 on Monday.
But Despite possible health risks associated with smoking e-cigarettes, their use has been increasing.
"Electronic cigarettes have been identified as an emerging trend in Ontario," Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins said in a statement. "Concerns have been raised about possible implications for tobacco control efforts, including prevention, cessation and de-normalizing tobacco use."
Hoskins, who has read McKeown's report, has previously said the Ontario government will look into the risks associated with e-cigarettes before amending the Smoke-Free Ontario Act. He called on Health Canada to determine whether the vapour-product should be classified as a drug or tobacco product.
In 2009, Health Canada advised people not to use the nicotine-based products because product safety has not been proved. It, however, did put any restrictions on vaping.
