WECHU seizes 99 illegal high-nicotine vape products from one store in recent youth access crackdown

Daryl Cura demonstrates an e-cigarette at Vape store in Chicago on April 23, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nam Y. Huh 

A recent inspection by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) resulted in the seizure of 99 illegal high-nicotine vapour products from a store accused of attempting to sell them to a customer under 18.

This seizure in May marked "the first big one" since the health unit began implementing new approaches to youth access inspections.

In these inspections, youths aged 15 to 18 employed by WECHU, visit stores to see if staff will illegally sell products to them.

These "novel approaches" to youth access inspections started in the spring.

"Youth access inspections have been utilized for many years," WECHU said in a statement. "However, for the sake of efficacy in our test shopping for these high nicotine products, we are unable to provide additional detail on these novel approaches."

According to Jennifer Bradt, WECHU's manager of chronic disease and injury prevention, new vapour products are emerging in some establishments that exceed legal nicotine levels.

"Health Canada only approves nicotine up to 20 milligrams per millilitre in vapour products. But the products we're seeing in some of these stores is 50 milligrams per millilitre," she said. "It's a very high concentration which is really concerning for youth getting a hold of these products."

During the 2023 calendar year, WECHU-employed youth conducted 332 inspections of stores selling vapour products, resulting in 20 charges being laid.

"If we have vendors who are not selling in good faith and we hear are selling to youth, we'll go in there more frequently and increase surveillance on those specific establishments by doing additional test shopping in those establishments," said Bradt.

In the first three months of 2024, WECHU conducted two youth access inspections of stores selling vapour products.

In May, an illegal sale took place between a vape store employee and a youth test shopper.

"That store in particular had previously sold to youth," said Bradt. "So we did end up going in and we moved forward with seizing 99 high nicotine products from that one specific establishment."

Bradt said the WECHU finds its youth test shoppers by posting recruitment advertisements on social media.

Because the youth age out after a few years, the WECHU conducts consistent recruitment.

"Anyone within Windsor-Essex is able to apply within that 15-to-18 age range. They just have to look like they're 15 to 18. They can't look older than that," said Bradt.