Vape Store Fined for Illegally Selling E-Cigarette Products to Minors
A vape retail store on Prince Edward Island faces fines for violating tobacco and e-cigarette sales regulations by selling e-cigarette products to young people under the age of 19. Ryan Neale, director of the Environmental Health division of the Departmen
Due to violations of tobacco and electronic cigarette sales regulations by selling e-cigarette products to individuals under 19 years old, a vape retail store on the island will face fines.
Ryan Neale, the director of the Environmental Health Department of the Ministry of Health, stated that the government conducted a regulatory inspection of 12 stores selling e-cigarette products on the island, and found that two stores sold e-cigarette products to underage individuals. Neale mentioned that if a regulatory inspection finds that a store sells these products to minors, the next step is to determine whether the staff have received proper training.
The two vape stores found to be in violation are undergoing further investigation. One store, which also sells tobacco products, was not fined because the investigation revealed that their staff had received proper training, resulting in a warning for that employee. However, the other store was found to have staff who had not received proper training, and thus, this store will be fined.
The government conducts regulatory inspections by gathering a group of trained minors to enter the store and attempt to purchase tobacco or e-cigarette products to observe the store's response. Neale noted that this is the first time violations have been found in both vape specialty stores and traditional tobacco retailers.
Dr. David Sabapathy from the public health department stated that statistics from 2015 indicated that 3% of individuals on the island were using e-cigarette devices, which is in line with the national average in Canada. However, among young people, the proportion of e-cigarette users is 8%, slightly higher than the national average. Sabapathy mentioned that the island is treating e-cigarette use as equivalent to traditional smoking. He said that while some people argue that there is a significant difference between e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes, he agrees with the viewpoint that the harm of e-cigarettes to young people should not be underestimated.
