Bill 103 explained in plain English
Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act (Vaping is not for Kids), 2023
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st 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 103 strengthens Ontario's vaping regulations by raising the legal age to 21, banning promotional activities, restricting flavoured and high-nicotine products, limiting sales to specialty vape stores and designated remote stores with local health board approval, prohibiting online sales, and requiring annual youth vaping reports.
Bill 103 amends Ontario's Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 to add new restrictions and rules for vaping products. The bill raises the age restriction for buying vaping products from 19 to 21 years old. It bans the promotion of vaping products entirely. It restricts the sale of flavoured vaping products, except those with tobacco flavour, and restricts high-nicotine vaping products. The bill allows vaping products to be sold only in specialty vape stores (stores where at least 85% of sales are vaping products) or in designated stores in remote or rural communities—both require approval from local health boards. Online sales of vaping products are prohibited. The bill allows sampling of vaping products in specialty vape stores only, with a maximum of two people sampling at any given time, if regulations permit. Tax revenue from vaping sales can be directed toward public education about vaping health risks. Ontario Health must prepare annual reports on youth vaping to help the government develop policies to reduce youth vaping. The bill includes penalties for violations, including fines up to $5,000 per day for unlawful sales. The bill comes into force 120 days after Royal Assent. Specialty vape stores currently operating have a 12-month transition period before they must obtain board of health approval.
- Raises the minimum legal age to purchase or be supplied vaping products from 19 to 21 years old
- Bans all promotion of vaping products in any manner
- Restricts the sale of flavoured vaping products, except those with tobacco flavour or flavouring agents
- Restricts the sale of high-nicotine vaping products (more than 20 milligrams per millilitre for vape pods and liquids; prescribed amounts for other vaping products)
- Limits retail sales of vaping products to specialty vape stores (where at least 85% of sales are vaping-related products) or designated stores in remote or rural communities
- Requires operators of specialty vape stores and designated stores in remote or rural areas to obtain approval from the local board of health before opening or operating
- Prohibits the sale or offering for sale of vaping products online
- Allows vaping product sampling in specialty vape stores only, with a maximum of two people sampling at any given time, subject to regulatory approval
- Permits vaping product tax revenue to be directed toward public education about vaping health risks, subject to legislative appropriation
- Requires Ontario Health to prepare annual reports to the Minister on youth vaping with recommendations for reducing youth vaping
- Establishes penalties including fines up to $5,000 per day for violations of sale and approval rules
- Provides a 12-month transition period for specialty vape stores currently operating before they must obtain board of health approval
- Persons under 21 years old (cannot purchase or be supplied vaping products; cannot enter specialty vape stores; restricted or prohibited from sampling)
- Persons 21 years old and older (can legally purchase and use vaping products, subject to other restrictions)
- Retailers and shop owners who currently sell vaping products (must comply with new sale location and approval requirements)
- Specialty vape store operators (must meet 85% product sales threshold, obtain board of health approval, comply with age verification requirements, and cannot operate without approval)
- Designated store operators in remote or rural communities selling vaping products (must obtain board of health approval)
- Vaping product manufacturers and distributors (products must comply with flavour and nicotine restrictions)
- Boards of health in Ontario (responsible for approving specialty vape stores and designated remote/rural stores, setting requirements, and monitoring compliance)
- Ontario Health (required to prepare annual reports on youth vaping)
- The Ontario government and Minister of Health (can use tax revenue for public education on vaping health risks and develop policies based on reports)
- No person may sell or supply vaping products to anyone under 21 years old
- No person may promote vaping products in any manner
- No person may sell vaping products online
- No person may sell vaping products at retail except in a specialty vape store or a designated store in a remote or rural community
- No person may operate a specialty vape store without first obtaining approval from the local board of health
- No person may sell or offer vaping products at a designated store in a remote or rural community without board of health approval
- Specialty vape store operators must ensure at least 85% of sales are from vaping products or vaping-related items
- Specialty vape store operators must prevent persons under 21 from entering the store and verify age (25-year-old rule) for those who appear young
- Persons under 21 are not permitted inside specialty vape stores
- Vaping product sampling (if permitted by regulation) is limited to a maximum of two persons sampling at any given time in specialty vape stores only
- Boards of health may impose conditions on approvals and revoke approvals if conditions are breached or if other vaping rules are violated
- Boards of health must publish any requirements they establish on their websites
- Ontario Health must prepare annual reports to the Minister on youth vaping with recommendations
- Tax revenue from vaping sales may be directed toward public education about vaping health risks
- The bill comes into force 120 days after it receives Royal Assent (exact date depends on when Royal Assent is granted)
- Specialty vape stores that are currently operating on the day the bill comes into force have a 12-month transition period during which they do not need to obtain board of health approval; after 12 months, they must comply with the approval requirement
- Tax revenue generated from the sale of vaping products at specialty vape stores and designated stores in remote or rural communities may be directed by the Minister toward public education about the health risks associated with vaping, provided that the Legislature has appropriated funds for this purpose
- The bill does not specify the amount of tax revenue or the amount to be appropriated for public education
- A person who contravenes the prohibition on selling or offering to sell vaping products online (subsection 10.2(2)) is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not more than $5,000 for each day or part of a day the offence occurs or continues
- A person who contravenes the requirement to obtain board of health approval before operating a specialty vape store (subsection 10.2(3)) is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not more than $5,000 for each day or part of a day the offence occurs or continues
- A person who contravenes the requirement to obtain board of health approval before selling vaping products at a designated store in a remote or rural community (subsection 10.2(4)) is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not more than $5,000 for each day or part of a day the offence occurs or continues
- A person who contravenes the prohibition on selling vaping products at retail outside specialty vape stores or designated remote/rural stores (subsection 10.2(1)) may be subject to penalties (specific penalty amounts not detailed in the bill text)
- Boards of health may revoke approval to operate a specialty vape store or a designated store if conditions are breached or other vaping provisions are violated, and the operator must cease operations on or before the revocation date
- The bill text does not specify the exact date Royal Assent will be granted, so the exact commencement date (120 days after Royal Assent) is unknown
- The bill references prescribed amounts of nicotine for vaping products other than vape pods and liquids but does not specify what those amounts will be; they will be determined by regulation
- The bill allows sampling in specialty vape stores if 'prescribed by regulation' but does not detail what regulations will govern sampling procedures
- The bill allows boards of health to establish requirements for specialty vape stores and to publish them on their websites, but does not detail what those requirements will be or what criteria will guide their development
- The bill references 'other prescribed considerations' that boards of health may consider when approving stores but does not specify what those considerations will be
- The bill does not specify the procedures that boards of health must follow to grant or revoke approval, stating only that regulations may prescribe such procedures
- The bill does not specify what specific information or recommendations Ontario Health's annual report must include, beyond stating they should 'assist the Minister in developing policies to reduce youth vaping'
- The bill does not specify how much tax revenue will be directed toward public education or how funds will be allocated, only that the Minister may direct revenue 'to the extent that the Legislature has appropriated funds'
- The definition of 'designated store in a remote or rural community' is not provided in the bill text; these will be defined by regulation
- The bill does not specify how schools are defined under the Education Act or provide details about proximity requirements to schools
The bill makes extensive changes to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act by adding and modifying sections related to vaping products, including age restrictions, promotion bans, sale restrictions, product restrictions, approval requirements, and reporting obligations.
Source: Sections 1-9 of Bill 103
The definition of 'board of health' in the Smoke-Free Ontario Act is aligned with the definition in the Health Protection and Promotion Act, ensuring consistent terminology across Ontario health legislation.
Source: Section 1(1) of Bill 103
Boards of health must consider a specialty vape store's proximity to schools (as defined in the Education Act) when deciding whether to approve the store's operation.
Source: Section 10.2(5) of Bill 103
Part III (Regulations) of the Legislation Act, 2006 does not apply to requirements established by boards of health for specialty vape stores, allowing boards of health to set requirements without following the formal regulation-making process.
Source: Section 10.1(3) of Bill 103
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.
How this data is sourced