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Throughout Canada, provinces have enacted different legislation to control the sale of vapes and vaping products. This legislation is typically designed with a focus on preventing the growth of underage vaping.
Quebec has some of the most stringent laws of all of the provinces; it has opted to ban all flavoured vapes and flavoured vaping products, including flavoured e-liquid and flavoured disposables. In this article, we explore Quebec’s flavour ban, its impact, and the future of vaping in Quebec.
Key Takeaways
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Since October 2023, a flavour ban has been in effect on vaping products in Quebec.
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The flavour ban excludes tobacco flavours.
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Both pro and anti-vaping advocacy groups see problems with the law and the regulatory framework for vaping in Quebec.
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Some other provinces have also instituted a flavour ban.
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We have insufficient or biased data—this makes it difficult to ascertain the effects of the ban.
Overview Of Quebec's Vaping Laws
Quebec’s vaping laws govern who can purchase vapes and other nicotine products, the types of vape and vaping products that can be sold, how those products can be sold, and where those products can be used. Laws include:
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Prohibitions on vaping in certain public places
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Prohibitions on minors buying vapes
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Prohibitions on buying vapes for minors
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Laws governing marketing, product displays, and packaging on vaping products
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The flavour ban
These laws, all found under the Tobacco Control Act, were implemented to improve public safety and reduce the rates of youth vaping. The ban on flavoured vape products is the main focus of this article; to better understand it, we must review the wording used by the Government of Quebec.
What The Flavoured Vape Ban Entails
According to the Government of Quebec, companies are forbidden to sell a vape product:
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with a flavour or aroma other than that of tobacco (selling a product with no flavour or aroma remains permitted);
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with a nicotine concentration exceeding 20 mg/ml;
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with a vaping liquid tank and capsule capacity over 2 ml;
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with a refill container (bottle) capacity over 30 ml;
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in the form of a toy, a piece of jewellery, a food, an animal, a real or fictional person, or any other form, appearance or function that might be attractive to minors.
These regulations were implemented on October 31st, 2023. As you can see, the flavour ban goes beyond simply regulating flavours—it also controls the appearance of vapes, the maximum nicotine concentration of vape liquid, the size of vape tanks, and the size of refill bottles.
How This Impacts Consumers And The Rest Of The Vaping Industry
The Government of Quebec opted to ban flavoured vapes to discourage young people from purchasing or trying them; this rationale is also seen in the design restrictions the government placed on vapes.
At the time of writing this article, the flavoured vape ban has been in effect for about a year and a half. The impact of the ban has been complex.
One survey, conducted in 2024, found that 36% of vapers have turned to cigarettes. This survey was conducted by Léger on behalf of the Coalition of the Rights of Quebecers Who Vape (CDVQ). The results of this survey could be considered disastrous from a smoking-cessation point of view, but as with all surveys, it is important to keep its origins in mind—the CDVQ is biased toward the rights of vapers.
Génération Sans Tabac, a French anti-nicotine group, has also found flaws with the ban. Retailers adapted to the flavour ban by selling flavours separately from vapes; these flavours are designed to be mixed into flavourless e-liquid. An article from Génération Sans Tabac (the article is in French) details how vape dispensaries have used legal loopholes to change their status to grocery stores, allowing them to sell these flavours separately—and, argues Génération Sans Tabac, increasing youth exposure to vaping products.
Consumers may have turned to the black market to get flavoured products. Imperial Tobacco Canada estimates that 60% of the vapour market in Quebec is now illegal. In a survey conducted by Léger on its behalf, 40% of respondents said they purchased illegal flavoured vapour products from a vape shop in the 12 preceding months; the survey was conducted between October 10th and 15th, 2024.
All three of the sources we’ve covered in this article are biased—one a consumer rights group, the second an anti-nicotine advocacy group, and the third, one of the largest nicotine companies on the planet. They all have different concerns—but all three feel that the flavour ban is flawed in some way.
Unfortunately, more rigorous data on how the flavour ban has affected the vape market and youth vaping is not available—the most recent survey conducted by the Government of Quebec on nicotine and tobacco habits was conducted in 2023, between July 10th and November 19th. This means the data was collected both before and after the flavour ban, skewing it sufficiently to be unusable for our purposes.
Other Bans Currently In Effect
There are several other flavoured vape bans currently in effect across Canada:
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Nova Scotia has banned all flavoured e-cigarettes and liquids.
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New Brunswick has banned all flavours except for tobacco.
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Prince Edward Island has banned all flavours except for tobacco.
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The Northwest Territories has banned all flavours except for tobacco.
Many of these flavoured vape bans have been in effect for longer than Quebec’s ban, but data is still lacking. We would be happy to do a deep dive into these bans for our readers; let us know if you’re interested in that content, and we will happily write pieces for each province and territory with a flavour ban.
Conclusion
We do not have enough evidence to understand the effect of the flavoured vape ban in Quebec on the market or on youth vaping. Advocacy groups from different sides of the argument all have problems with the flavoured vape ban; some are requesting tighter, more sophisticated regulatory frameworks, while others are proposing the ban be undone entirely.
We speculate that the Government of Quebec may enact legislation to curb the sale of flavoured additives and more tightly control the market; this is, however, speculation, and there have been no obvious moves from the government to indicate a tightening or loosening of regulations.
At Cold Turkey Vape Shop, we sell vapes in Canada; we also aim to keep our customers informed of the laws in their province, the effect of legislative frameworks on the market, and how to curb youth vaping. As vaping laws continue to change and more data becomes available, we will update this and other articles and keep you aware of how those changes might affect you.
