A provincial review of Alberta’s tobacco and smoking legislation could result in regulations for vaping by next spring.

Calgary-Klein MLA Jeremy Nixon will lead the review and will work with Alberta Health to examine the evidence and consult with Albertans and stakeholders, Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Wednesday.

“We want to let people know the risks of vaping and we want to regulate it based on the evidence,” Shandro said. “So we’re going to take a close look at vaping as part of the overall review of our smoking legislation.”

Alberta’s Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act requires a review to begin by Nov. 1. The current legislation does not address vaping, Shandro noted.

“We need to balance the concerns about health, especially for young people, with the right of adults to make choices as consumers,” he said. “We also need to consider the potential impacts on businesses, like those which allow people to use hookahs and water pipes.”

MLA Jeremy Nixon (L) and Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro address media in Calgary on Wednesday, October 2, 2019. Jim Wells / Postmedia

Shandro said there wouldn’t be time for amendments to be ready for the fall session of the legislature, but the government wants to have proposed amendments to the smoking act ready for the spring session. He added that if Alberta’s chief medical officer or another medical expert brings evidence of an urgent issue to the government’s attention, “we will do that in an urgent way.”

Alberta’s chief medical officer added vaping-related acute severe lung illness to the official list of “notifiable conditions” under the Public Health Act on Sept. 5, Shandro said. So far, no Alberta cases have been reported.

Nixon said the review is “a great opportunity” to consider building on the gaps in the current legislation, to look at provincial age restrictions associated with vaping products, to consider the use of vaping in public places and workplaces, and to strengthen restrictions around advertising and promotion of vaping products, particularly aimed at youth.

The review will begin by Nov. 1 and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The province said Albertans will be informed in the coming weeks as to how they can submit their input.

“We want your help in developing solutions that will work to address these serious health issues,” Nixon said. “We are working to provide a forum for public feedback so that you can participate. The engagement process will also include engagement with stakeholders and experts.”

Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking & Health, said his organization is pleased the Alberta government is planning to address vaping products and the sale and promotion of the products, particularly to young people.

“We are urging the government to fully align restrictions on vaping products with those that currently exist on tobacco products,” he said. “And 86 per cent of Albertans want the Alberta government to align these restrictions, according to a Léger Marketing survey done several months ago.”

The group also wants to see better alignment of restrictions on the sale and promotion of liquor, cannabis and tobacco products.

“All liquor and cannabis retailers, not only do they have to card anyone who appears to be under the age of 25, but they also require mandatory online training,” Hagen said. “So we think that should be applied to all tobacco and vaping retailers as well.”

Hagen noted that Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only two provinces that have not passed legislation to deal with vaping products.

Jason Kim, owner of three Evolution Vape stores in Calgary, said the Canadian Vaping Association supports measures such as stricter age verification and regulations around advertising.

An employee vapes outside a store in Kensington in northwest Calgary on Wednesday, October 2, 2019.

“We’re already regulated as to what we can promote,” he said. “I just had Health Canada inspectors come into my shop and we don’t even advertise in shop.”

They are already legislated federally not to sell to anybody under the age of 18, and the association would like vape shops to be classified as adult-only shops, Kim added.

“We’ve been always very proactive in keeping these, as best as we can, out of the hands of underage people,” he said.

Darryl Tempest, executive director of the Canadian Vaping Association, said the group shares “the deep concerns of Canadians about the recent cases of lung illnesses, particularly among youth.”

“It’s critical that health authorities get to the primary source of this outbreak, as non-nicotine e-liquid vaping devices sourced on the black market have been implicated in many cases,” he said. “It is for this reason that we encourage other provincial lawmakers and authorities to follow the example of Alberta.”