The Convenience Industry Council Canada (CICC) has called on the Quebec government to require vape sellers to have a food-grade alcohol license to curb the circumvention of vape flavor sales regulations in some stores.
Vape sales in Canada require a food-grade liquor license
As reported by CTV News on August 27, the Convenience Industry Council of Canada (CICC) has made a public appeal to the Quebec government to require all vape brands to have a food-grade alcohol license for their sales.
With this measure, the CICC hopes to crack down on some vape stores that are currently circumventing regulations on the sale of vape flavors.
The sale of vape flavors has been banned in Quebec since October 31st.
The vice-president of the Association Michel Gadbois (Michel Gadbois) said that
- There are about 400 vape stores in Quebec that circumvent the laws and regulations by dressing up as convenience stores so they can sell flavored goods in the form of food flavorings.
According to Gadbois, at least 80 percent of vape stores do not comply with laws and regulations, while traditional convenience stores have a violation rate of less than 5 percent. Because of these evasive behaviors, “we’ve lost between 2 and 50 percent of the vape brand market share, depending on the region.”
The Canadian Association of Convenience Stores
The CICC hopes that by making it mandatory to obtain a license to sell alcohol, it will force these illegal companies to change their business model and comply with the law.
To obtain a grocery store license to sell alcohol, at least 51 percent of the merchandise must be food and the minimum value must be $5,500. In addition, the store must undergo an initial investigation and testing by the Bureau of Ethanol, Games and Sports (RACJ).
The CICC believes the laws and regulations can be implemented quickly without additional cost to the government, and only require amendments through simple laws and regulations.
Gabois said he gave the proposal to the government six months ago, but so far there has been no change.
- “We said to them: We are going to put pressure publicly because you don’t seem to be in a hurry to put it into action,” he said.
The CICC said the government was aware of the presence of violators but chose not to act on it.
- “There was no prosecution, there was no follow-up, so there was no punishment…”
This media outlet posed questions to the Ministry of Health but received no immediate response.
- When vape flavors were banned, the association expressed support. They asked the government to keep at least two flavors, menthol and fruit. However, Gabois insisted that
Flavors such as pineapple, cotton candy, and bubblegum should not be available as these are designed to appeal to young people.
