British Columbia regulations an attack on convenience stores, says CICC

Canadian convenience stores say regulations won’t address youth access to vaping but will instead hinder ability of adult smokers to transition away from cigarettes.

Convenience store retailers are expressing their extreme disappointment at regulations introduced today by the Government of British Columbia that impose strict measures on the sale of limited flavoured vape products through the convenience store channel.

“Youth access to vaping products is a serious issue, which is why our industry has committed to working with governments across the country to implement measures that will actually address it,” said Anne Kothawala, President and CEO of the Convenience Industry Council of Canada.

CICC represents the 2,500 convenience retailers that employ more than 21,000 British Columbians and collect more than $200 million in taxes in the province.

Kothawala added, “Convenience stores are not the source of the youth vaping problem and such drastic restrictions in our ability to sell these products to the adults coming into our stores looking for alternatives to traditional tobacco products will not be the solution to it either. We are also very concerned about the impact on the black market which is likely to grow and is the cause of many of the reported illnesses to date.”

British Columbia is Canada’s westernmost province with a population of around 5 million.