VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Online e-cigarette retailers operating in Canada are selling products containing nicotine to teens as young as 14 years old. Teens are successfully buying in person and online, and retailers, couriers and postal agents are promoting, selling, delivering, and handing these products over, sometimes with no questions asked.
In a research exercise conducted by Inverite Verification Inc. in June and July of 2017 with teens aged 14 to 17 years old in Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton, 11 online e-cigarette product retailers sold nicotine-containing products to these minors. And most of those were shipped and delivered with no age verification.
“I was not asked for my proof of age to receive the package but did have to show my driver’s licence to verify my identification,” said a 17-year-old teen from the Edmonton area. Her driver’s license showed she was under 18, with a different address than the one on the package. Yet she was allowed to pick up the vaping liquid containing nicotine.
Legislation currently before parliament, Bill S-5, aims to prohibit the sale and delivery of vaping products to a minor.
There are ways for online retailers of vaping, tobacco, and even marijuana products to safely and securely verify age at the point of purchase, thereby preventing these products from ending up in the hands of minors.
“In this rapidly developing regulatory environment online retailers of e-cigarette, vaping, combustion tobacco, and soon-to-come marijuana products should take steps to protect their business and the nation’s youth,” says Dave McIntyre, senior developer at Inverite Verification, the company that has developed a product that allows for secure age verification for online transactions.
The underage minor is a significant market for these online e-cigarette businesses, judging by the number of products with flavours like peach jam, moose milk, bubbles strawberry gum, and candy floss.
“It’s scary how they’re so clearly targeting kids with these flavours,” said Charles Taylor, an Edmonton father of two teenaged girls. “There are vape-shops opening up all over the place and I've seen what looks to be underage teens with vapers.”
Bill S5 contains a clause that will restrict the marketing and promotion of flavours and packaging designed specifically to attract teens. Do we need to wait for the regulations, and the fines, to start changing behaviour?
Learn more:
Read the full Inverite Research Report
Bill S-5, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act
Health Canada: Retailer Behaviour With Respect to Youth Access to Electronic Cigarettes
Inverite Verification Inc: www.inverite.com