Quebec Flavor Ban Will Begin October 31st

Quebec will soon ban the sale of vaping products in flavors other than tobacco (or unflavored). The new provincial health regulations also prohibit e-liquid sold in bottles with a capacity greater than 30 mL and prefilled devices that hold more than 2 mL.

The rules were formally published Aug. 2 in the official provincial gazette, and take effect 90 days after publication, on Oct. 31.

The flavor ban and other provisions were first announced in draft regulations published in April. According to a press release from the Coalition des droits des vapoteurs du Québec (CDVQ—the Quebec Vaping Rights Coalition), more than 30,000 Quebecers took the time to comment on the proposed flavor ban, but the health ministry didn’t make any changes to the rules in response to public demand.

As Vaping360 reported in April, industry leaders expect the flavor ban to shut down most Quebec vape shops. The Alliance des boutiques de vaping du Québec (Alliance of Vape Shops in Quebec) said at that time all 400 independent vape shops in the province would close.

With 8.5 million residents, Quebec is Canada’s second-most populous province, and the largest province to pass a flavor ban. Four other provinces and territories—Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and the Northwest Territories—have flavor bans in place, and Nunavut has passed a ban but not yet set a date for implementation. Three other provinces—British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan—restrict flavored products to adult-only stores like vape shops.