Imperial Tobacco Canada warns against proposed flavour regulations on vaping products
Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITCAN) is once again warning Health Canada that there are dangerous ingredients included in the allowable list of vapour products additives, as detailed in the proposed Order Amending Schedules 2 and 3 to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (Flavours).
"We outlined our concerns about the permitted additive list in our submission to Health Canada and in meetings, however, we fear that our warnings have fallen on deaf ears," says Eric Gagnon, vice-president, corporate and regulatory affairs. "To put it bluntly, the list contains at least one known substance that could cause cancer."
According to ITCAN, several ingredients on the Flavour Ban Proposal list of permitted ingredients are substances that “we, and our parent company BAT, do not categorically use in our vaping products. This is because BAT's rigorous toxicological risk assessment prevents the use of substances classified as having carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) properties, as per Globally Harmonised System (GHS) for classification and labelling of substances.”
ITACAN continues that “it is shocking that the government would include a proven and classified CMR substance in its lists of permitted additives for vaping products.”
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"One such example is isophorone. This substance is classified by the European Union as cancer-causing and acutely toxic. It is also banned by Canadian food and drug regulations from use in human cosmetics. Yet, if the proposed regulations pass it can be used in vapour products," adds Gagnon. "This list has the potential of turning vapour products, which are proven to be less risky to health than smoking, into a product that could be very harmful to consumers."
ITCAN is recommending that more research is needed into a proposed ingredients list while supporting an ingredient ban relating to any substance registered under the GHS that have carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic (CMR) properties, or respiratory sensitization capacity in their vaporized form.
"We encourage Health Canada to reconsider the list and consult with experts to determine the best way forward," says Gagnon. "We are transforming, and our principal focus area is reducing the health impact of our business by bringing less harmful alternatives to the market. Health Canada should be doing the same. These regulations do not improve the public health of Canadians."
