Manitoba bill would reduce availability of flavoured vapes; one group wants more

Disposable flavored electronic cigarette devices are displayed for sale at a store in Pinecrest, Fla., June 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government plans to greatly reduce the number of locations where flavoured vaping products can be sold, but one group says the idea does not go far enough and lags behind efforts in many other provinces.

A bill introduced in the legislature Tuesday would forbid the sale of such products in businesses in urban areas that allow people under 18 to enter. The measure would not apply in rural areas.

The NDP government said the aim is to help reduce the risk that minors might see the products, be enticed by the flavouring, and get hooked.

"We know that (flavoured vapes) is a gateway for kids in particular (to) choosing more significant — like tobacco, cigarettes — substances later on," Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said.

The measure appears similar to moves in British Columbia and Ontario to limit sales of such products to specialty stores that only allow adults.

Flavoured vaping products, along with non-flavoured ones, will continue to be available to adults as a way to wean off tobacco

"We know that for folks who are maybe making some changes to smoking cigarettes, that having an option like a flavoured vape product is something that alleviates that for them. It makes it easier for folks to cut back on smoking cigarettes and eventually eliminate smoking at all," Asagwara said.

The Manitoba Lung Association said stronger measures are needed.

"Our (youth) vaping rates are unfortunately leading national averages ," Juliette Mucha, the lung association's president, said.

"They are receiving it simply through social peers, through online (avenues). So there are ways that they are able to get it, and this (bill) is not, unfortunately, going far enough to really make meaningful change to protect the health of our Manitoba youth."

Manitoba's plan falls well short of some other provinces, such as Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which have banned most flavours for adults as well.

Prince Edward Island raised the minimum age to purchase all nicotine vaping products to 21 back in 2020, and banned the sale of flavoured products in 2021.

The Manitoba Lung Association is hoping the government will change the bill before it is passed into law. The bill is expected to go to public hearings later this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2026.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press