ALBERTANS WANT PROVINCIAL VAPING RESTRICTIONS ALIGNED WITH TOBACCO RESTRICTIONS
Edmonton – A recent public opinion survey of 1,002 Albertans conducted by Leger Research reveals that more than four out of five Albertans support aligning provincial restrictions on tobacco with those on vaping and nicotine vaping products. The Alberta government recently launched a mandatory review of the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act and it is considering changes to the legislation including the regulation of vaping products.
“Albertans support strong measures to curtail the rising epidemic of youth vaping including the alignment of restrictions on tobacco and vaping products” said Kristyn Berry of the Heart & Stroke Foundation. “We urge the Alberta government to listen to Albertans and not tobacco and vaping lobbyists when considering amendments to the legislation. Albertans want the government to protect kids from tobacco and vaping products and from predatory marketing campaigns that are deliberately targeting youth.”
“The survey results demonstrate that Albertans want the provincial government to provide children and adolescents with strong and effective protection from tobacco and vaping products” said Nina Snyder of the Lung Association of Alberta/NWT. “The measures addressed in the survey include a number of loopholes and omissions in the Federal Tobacco and Vaping Act. Federal restrictions on vaping product advertising, promotion, display and packaging are not aligned with federal restrictions on tobacco products. These gaps in the legislation have allowed vaping and tobacco companies to aggressively target youth with vaping promotions and marketing. We urge the Alberta government to address the deficiencies in the federal legislation with provincial legislation as other provinces have done.”
Following the swift passage of provincial legislation in Saskatchewan earlier this month, Alberta is the only remaining province without provincial legislation to protect youth from vaping products,
“Alberta kids deserve first-class protection from tobacco and vaping products” said Kayla Atkey of the Alberta Policy Coalition for Chronic Disease Prevention. “The Alberta government can make up for the delay by approving the strongest provincial legislation in Canada as it did in 2013 with the passage of the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act. Over 35,000 Alberta youth were using vaping products in 2017 and these kids have already been impacted by the delay. We can’t allow more youth to fall victim to the predatory marketing efforts of tobacco and vaping companies. Protection delayed is protection denied.”
Tobacco and vaping companies have registered 28 lobbyists to fight provincial regulation in Alberta. Some of these lobbyists have political ties and are actively targeting several Alberta government departments with a variety of strategies that are documented in the Alberta Lobbyist Registry.
The Leger online poll was conducted between November 1st and 5th. As a non-random internet survey, a margin of error is not reported (margin of error accounts for sampling error). Had these data been collected using a probability sample, the margin of error would be plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The coalition is urging all Albertans to participate in the government’s public consultation on the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act by visiting ProtectAlbertaKids.ca.
The Campaign for a Smoke-Free Alberta is a coalition of prominent health organizations that are working to prevent and reduce tobacco use in Alberta.
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Contact:
Kristyn Berry @ 780-229-7017
Nina Snyder @ 780-224-0005
Kayla Atkey @ 780-695-6370
Les Hagen @ 780-919-5546