Flavour ban in New Brunswick doesn’t stop people from vaping

In 2021, we all heard the tragic and surprising news of a flavour ban in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The bill, which was passed with astonishing speed, tabled and passed a new legislation that would ensure that no adult could access the different varities of flavours they used as an alternative to smoking. According to the provincial government, this ban responds to the moral panic about young people finding vaping attractive.

This ban is disappointing to all the adults who were vaping as a safer alternative to smoking. It also doesn’t guarantee that teens who cannot vape will not smoke either or try some other way of nicotine intake. In fact, this ban will only ensure that teens try traditional smoking methods. The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) has already informed the government that this ban will only spike the smoking rates in teens rather than bring them down. If they wanted the youth to keep away from nicotine, banning vape flavours is entirely the wrong way to go about it.

What this ban has done is push people towards the black market to fulfill their needs. Social media has played an important role in bringing people what they need from other provinces. As much as the ban was supposed to cut short the supply of vape flavours, it has given rise to people looking for shortcuts and unethical and illegal ways to get their hands on their favourite flavours.

New Brunswick has also failed to consider the economic changes of this very policy. To make the province smoke-free is a difficult task. It can affect the current smokers, but it will also spike a curiosity among non-smokers. The businesses that were offering a wide variety of flavours to consumers were all small to medium businesses. Here is how the ban has affected them.

Effects of Flavour Ban On Business

Vaping businesses are usually small, small families often run them, and their survival depends on the consumers. If the number of consumers drops, it will become hard for these businesses to run smoothly. They are dependent on their customers and can face severe consequences if the business goes south. People also sell these flavours in convenience stores. If they are forced to remove the product from their stores, it might lower their sales and take their customers elsewhere.

The ban will undoubtedly result in the closure of these small businesses. There would be thousands of people without any business and jobs. This issue is a severe matter the authorities in New Brunswick should have considered before coming up with such a ban. The shops with lease agreements are also going to face destruction from this ban. Because of the COVID-19, the economy is already fragile. This ban will result in significant job loss and will indeed affect the economy in the worst possible way.

How Effective Will This Ban Be?

While the intention behind this ban is purely for the betterment of the youth, some consequences cannot be ignored. The New Brunswick government was in a rush to come up with a solution, and in their panic, they ignored a lot of signs that are now showing up. The ban has not only not stopped people from vaping, but it has also made vaping much cooler than it was earlier. More and more non-smoking, non-nicotine-taking people are now aware of the ban, increasing their curiosity.

Another thing is that there is still no ban on tobacco products, which means there is a high chance that the youth will start smoking products induced with tobacco. Hence the ratio of smokers will remain the same, but this time in a more traditional way. Additionally, there is no influential impact on youth from the ban on vape flavour in Nova Scotia, which means there are chances the ban might be a failure.

All In All

Looking at the current situation, a whole lot of people are not pleased with the ban on vape flavours. There are far more essential matters to consider before passing the ban. The economy is pretty fragile, which means this ban will be worse for it without a doubt. People are going to lose their jobs. In this COVID-19 situation, everyone is afraid of what might happen next. Hopefully, the authorities will reconsider the ban and do something in favour of the citizen of New Brunswick.