Evidence of meeting #137 for Finance in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was quebec.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:50 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
My last question is for Mr. Cunningham.
The Canadian Cancer Society also recommended that clauses 145 to 167 be adopted. Those would strengthen administration and enforcement of the federal vaping product tax and provide for a minimum age of 18 for the importation of vaping products.
Can you briefly outline why the society supports these measures?
5:50 p.m.
Senior Policy Analyst, Canadian Cancer Society
Right now, while there are provincial minimum ages for 18 or 19, or 21 in P.E.I., for vaping product sales, there's none if you import it, so that's just a gap that's being felt. We need to have effective administration for an expensive vaping tax to prevent youth vaping.
Just to highlight it, Imperial Tobacco, 18 months ago, and other companies as well, launched disposable e-cigarettes. It started off with a 500-puff volume. There's a nicotine puff volume arms race. Then there was a 1,500-puff from Imperial Tobacco, then 5,000, then 8,000, and the price per puff has gone down from 2.2¢ a puff to 1.3¢, 0.6¢, 0.37¢. Some companies even have 10,000 and 12,000, which 0.3¢ a puff. It reduces the weekly or monthly cost. These things are now 14% of the cost at retail of what they were 18 months ago, so this tax is really important.
5:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca
Thank you, MP Davies.
We want to thank our witnesses for their compelling testimony, their advocacy, and the work they do in our communities from coast to coast to coast. We truly appreciate your coming here on Bill C-59.
Thank you. Have a great day.
Members, at this time, we are adjourned.