Before the 2018 Ontario election, then Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford promised residents a buck a beer.
And it is something he was able to deliver on, at least in part. We say in part because Ford and his government had very little to do with it. All he did was lower the minimum price that brewers could sell their product at, from $1.25 to a buck a bottle.
It was up to them if they wanted to sell their beer for less, though they were given non-financial incentives such as being offered prime spots in Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores or advertising in the store magazine’s inserts.
The question is: regardless of how many brewers decided to take Ford up on his offer, was it a good idea?
We don’t think so. There are certain products that if regulations are not put in place are harmful to society. Alcohol is one of those products. Tobacco is another. Often our governments feel that regulations are not enough of a deterrent to dissuade people from using these products, which is why they have introduced sin taxes, to make products more expensive and reduce consumption.
In Alberta, e-cigarettes are exempt from the tobacco tax. We don’t believe they should be.
Although we don’t have as much data to go on as we do with smoking and tobacco products, it is clear that there are potential health risks associated with vaping and e-cigarettes, the majority of which contain nicotine.
In youth, nicotine is known to have a number of negative health effects. And according to the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health, early exposure to nicotine in adolescence may increase the severity of future dependence on nicotine and tobacco.
And the e-cigarette producers, many of which are owned by tobacco companies, seem to be specifically targeting the youth market and their efforts seem to be working.
Recently released survey data from Health Canada revealed that the rates of vaping among Alberta youth almost tripled between 2015 and 2017 — from eight per cent to 22 per cent among those in grades 10 to 12.
We recently visited a local school and about a quarter of the junior high students admitted they knew someone their age who vaped.
In February, Health Canada put forward measures to restrict the advertising of vaping products and require manufacturers to put health warnings on the packaging of nicotine-laced e-cigarettes.
They are also considering a proposal to limit nicotine concentrations in those products specifically designed for and targeted towards youth users.
We applaud them for their efforts. We also ask MLA Glenn van Dijken to ask his colleagues to consider the introduction of a vaping sin tax similar to tobacco to help curb youth usage.
- reprinted from the Barrhead Leader, a Great West newspaper
