Proposed legislation would allow British Columbia to take legal action against vape manufacturers to recover health-care-related costs.
Attorney General Niki Sharma tabled the bill Wednesday, calling it “historic” and the first of its kind in Canada.
She said Bill 24 would create a legal framework that would allow the province to initiate or join lawsuits against vape companies who are alleged to have caused public harm through misleading promotion of their products.
“Companies market their products as safe and sometimes even beneficial, often targeting impressionable youth, despite knowing full-well how untrue their claims are,” said Sharma.
She said companies have misrepresented their products as a safe smoking cessation tool, when in fact the products are dangerous and are “designed to addict a new generation to nicotine.”
“At the end of the day, taxpayers are left footing the bill for the significant public crisis that ensues while the companies profit,” she said.
The B.C. Lung Foundation said when the liquid used in vaping products is heated, it creates a number of toxic chemicals and particles that are harmful to lungs and can cause cancer.
A 2023 province-wide survey found about one in four youth had tried vaping. Of those who had tried it, more than half had vaped within the previous month, and 15 per cent said they vaped everyday. The most common ages young people said they first tried vaping were 13 and 14.
“We all want to keep vapes and dangerous substances out of the hands of kids, which is why today’s announcement is so important,” said Minister of Education and Child Care Lisa Beare in a statement. “It will hold vaping companies accountable for the harm they are causing youth and families.”
Sharma said the legislation would allow the province to go after the companies, similar to the legal action B.C. taken against tobacco companies and opioid manufacturers.
B.C. was the first province to initiate legal action in 1998 against the three principal Canadian tobacco manufacturers and their foreign parent corporations to recover the cost of treating tobacco-related diseases. In August, B.C. received the first payment as part of a multi-billion dollar tobacco settlement with provinces, territories and former smokers.
B.C. also led efforts to recover health-care costs related to the sale and marketing of opioid-based pain medicines, leading to a 2022 settlement with Purdue Canada.
