A new Oakville bylaw will make it easier to close vape stores that sell to underage users.
As of March 1, the town will require stores selling vaping and electronic cigarette products to be licenced. The annual $191 business licence, already required for stores selling tobacco, will ensure retailers meet zoning, insurance and health requirements.
But most importantly, says Ward 5 councillor Jeff Knoll, the licence will let the town crack down on stores convicted for selling to young people.
While provincial law bans the sale of e-cigarette products to anyone under the age of 19, Knoll says some local stores appear to treat bylaw fines as “just the cost of doing business.”
Lakeshore Road retailer U-Canpuff was fined $1,000 on Feb. 5, after Halton inspectors sent in a test underage shopper who was successful in making a purchase.
The store was also convicted of underage sales in 2019, while its “sister store” Tornado Vapes had five convictions in 2019.
Both stores are located a short walk from local high schools.
“The leniency in letting these businesses get away with targeting and selling to underage customers needs to stop and it needs to stop now,” said Knoll, in a recent newsletter.
Under the new rules, the town will suspend the licence of a retailer convicted of a second violation of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act and revoke it for a third violation.
A 2019 report from Halton’s medical officer of health said that the increasing popularity of vapour products among young people is a growing public health concern.
It cited a 2019 University of Waterloo study that found a 74 per cent increase in vaping use among 16- to 19-year-olds between 2017 and 2018.
In 2017, 8.4 per cent of the surveyed teens said they had vaped in the previous month. That increased to 14.6 per cent in 2018.