Bill 85 explained in plain English
Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act (Vaping is not for Kids), 2022
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 85 amends the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, to implement stricter regulations on the sale, promotion, and flavouring of vapour products, raising the minimum age to 21 and restricting sales to specialized stores with health board approval.
Bill 85, also known as the Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act (Vaping is not for Kids), 2022, makes several changes to Ontario's laws regarding vapour products. The bill aims to restrict the sale and promotion of these products, particularly to individuals under 21 years old. It introduces new regulations for where vapour products can be sold, requires approval from local health boards for these locations, and allows for tax revenue from vapour product sales to be used for public education on vaping risks. Additionally, it mandates an annual report from Ontario Health on youth vaping. The act will come into effect 120 days after receiving Royal Assent.
- Prohibits the promotion of vapour products.
- Increases the minimum age for selling or supplying tobacco and vapour products from 19 to 21 years old.
- Restricts the sale of flavoured vapour products, except those with tobacco flavouring, and vapour products containing high levels of nicotine.
- Mandates that vapour products can only be sold in specialty vape stores or designated stores in remote or rural communities.
- Requires approval from a local board of health to operate a specialty vape store or sell vapour products in a designated remote or rural store.
- Allows conditions to be set by a board of health for approvals, including restricting access for persons under 21.
- Permits the Minister to direct tax revenue from vapour product sales in specialty and designated stores towards public education on vaping health risks, if funds are appropriated by the Legislature.
- Requires Ontario Health to produce an annual report on youth vaping to inform policy development.
- Amends definitions related to vapour products and health boards.
- Repeals certain previous provisions regarding vapour product sales and exemptions.
- Vapour product manufacturers and distributors
- Retailers selling vapour products, particularly specialty vape stores and designated stores in remote/rural communities
- Individuals under 21 years old who purchase or attempt to purchase vapour products
- Individuals under 25 years old who may be asked for identification in specialty vape stores
- Public health units and boards of health
- Ontario Health
- The Minister of Health
- No person shall promote vapour products.
- No person shall sell or supply a tobacco or vapour product to a person under 21 years old.
- No person shall sell or offer to sell vapour products at retail except in a specialty vape store or a designated store in a remote or rural community.
- Operators of specialty vape stores and designated remote/rural stores must obtain approval from the local board of health.
- Specialty vape stores must meet at least 85% of sales or inventory purchases from vapour products and other associated items.
- Specialty vape stores must ensure persons under 21 are not permitted inside, and persons appearing under 25 must show valid identification proving they are at least 21.
- Boards of health can impose conditions and revoke approvals for specialty vape stores and designated stores.
- Ontario Health is required to prepare an annual report on youth vaping.
- The Minister may direct tax revenue towards public education on vaping health risks, contingent on legislative appropriation.
- The Act comes into force 120 days after it receives Royal Assent.
- A transition period of 12 months from the commencement date is provided for existing specialty vape stores, during which the requirement for board of health approval for operation does not apply.
- The Minister may direct tax revenue generated from the sale of vapour products at specialty vape stores and designated stores in remote and rural communities to be used for public education about the health risks of vaping, provided the Legislature has appropriated funds for this purpose.
- A person who contravenes subsections 10.2 (2) or (3) (operating a specialty vape store or selling in a designated store without board of health approval) is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not more than $5,000 for each day the offence occurs or continues.
- Tables 1 and 2 to section 21 of the Act are amended to include contraventions of subsection 10.2 (1) (selling vapour products other than in a specialty vape store or designated remote/rural community store).
- The specific 'prescribed amounts' of nicotine for vapour products, beyond the 20 mg/mL for pods/liquids, are not detailed in the bill text and are subject to regulation.
- Further 'prescribed requirements' for specialty vape stores are not detailed in the bill text and are subject to regulation.
- The specific 'procedures for obtaining a board of health’s approval' and 'procedures for reviews of decisions' are subject to regulation.
- The specific 'prescribed considerations' for boards of health in approving stores are not detailed in the bill text and are subject to regulation.
- The details of 'any other provision of this Act respecting vapour products' that could lead to revocation of approval are not fully specified in the bill text.
- The bill does not specify the exact date of Royal Assent, which is needed to determine the commencement date.
- The full scope of 'activities referred to in section 9 as they relate to vapour products referred to in paragraph 2 or 2.1' which cannot be exempted is not fully detailed within this bill text.
This bill makes numerous amendments to the existing Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, concerning the regulation of vapour products. These include changes to definitions, sales restrictions, promotion, store operations, and penalties.
Source: Bill 85
This bill incorporates the definition of 'board of health' from the Health Protection and Promotion Act into the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017.
Source: Section 1 (1)
Adds a definition for 'board of health' and repeals and substitutes definitions for 'e-substance' and 'vapour product'.
Source: Section 1
Changes the minimum age for selling or supplying tobacco and vapour products from 19 to 21 years old.
Source: Section 2
Prohibits the promotion of vapour products in any manner.
Source: Section 3
Modifies the restrictions on selling flavoured vapour products, exempting only those with tobacco flavouring, and prohibits vapour products with high nicotine content.
Source: Section 4
Allows for the sampling of vapour products in specialty vape stores under specific conditions, such as a maximum of two people sampling at a time, if prescribed by regulation.
Source: Section 6
Changes a referenced age from 19 to 21.
Source: Section 7
Introduces a new offence and penalty for contravening rules regarding specialty vape stores and designated stores in remote and rural communities, with a fine of up to $5,000 per day.
Source: Section 8 (1)
Adds a reference to a new section (10.2 (1)) concerning sales in specialty vape stores and designated stores in remote and rural communities.
Source: Section 8 (2)
Restricts the ability of regulations to provide exemptions from the Act related to specific types of vapour products.
Source: Section 9
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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