TORONTO -- A coalition of health groups is warning the Ontario government that allowing the display and advertising of vaping products in convenience stores would lead to increased nicotine addiction among teenagers.
The groups, which includes the Canadian Cancer Society and the Heart & Stroke Foundation, say the proposed changes to the Smoke Free Ontario Act would allow the advertising of such products.
Ontario currently has no rules in place around the promotion of vaping in convenience stores but the health groups say the practice has already been banned in seven provinces.
The groups say that many of the products target children with flavours named after and designed to sound like candy.
Health Canada says vaping products are harmful, although not as harmful as smoking cigarettes, and has expressed concern about the appeal of vaping to teens and its potential to promote tobacco use.
The federal department says there is clear evidence that exposure to nicotine adversely affects cognitive function in the developing brains of adolescents.
