Senator Seidman: Thank you. We would all appreciate that, I’m sure.

Despite the 2021 consultation — which there was — we have yet to ban vaping flavours, which are said to be most appealing to youth. Senator Gold, of Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial governments, 6 have adopted legislation or regulations to ban the sale of vaping flavours other than tobacco. When does the federal government plan to ban flavours in vaping products?

Hon. Judith G. Seidman: My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Modifying the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act to include vaping in 2018 was said to be to protect the health and safety of Canadians, with the objective to reduce smoking in Canada to a prevalence of 5% and reduce smoking and nicotine addiction among young people.

This legislation was passed with very little supporting scientific evidence. The promise by the government was that the legislation would be updated as the science became available. We now have the data and scientific evidence at our disposal. We know that vaping is not a successful smoking cessation tool, that vaping is a gateway to youth cigarette smoking and that vaping liquids are toxic.

When will the legislation be updated in accordance with the data?