Heather Wright/The Independent

Lambton Public Health officials want vape shop owners who sell to minors to face Automatic Prohibition, just like store owners who sell cigarettes.

In a report to Lambton County Council, Jordan Banninga, manager of health promotion says a recent survey shows up to 30 per cent of teens from 15 to 19 have tried vaping at least once.

“Widespread vaping has been reported at schools throughout Ontario, with Lambton Public Health Enforcement Officers responding to school offence notifications and issuing a combined 49 warnings or charges through 2023, and 61 warnings and/or charges through the first six months of 2024,” says Banninga.

Public health also charged five Lambton County clerks or owners of vape shops with trying to sell to minors. About 414 similar charges were laid across the province in 2023.

But Banninga says health promoters don’t have the same tools to curb any problems as they do to charge people with selling cigarettes to minors.

Under provincial law, anyone caught twice selling smokes to someone under 19 has an automatic prohibition on the sale of tobacco products.

But that rule doesn’t apply to vapes.

“Given the use of vapour products among youth, the current enforcement measures for sales offences of these products could be strengthened to reduce sales to this young population. 

“Retailers report the revenue from the sale of vapour products far exceeds the fines and risk of product seizure,” says Banninga.

County council agreed to write to the health minister, the mental health and addictions minister, and the local member of parliament to ask the Smoke Free Ontario Act be changed to include automatic prohibition for vape retailers as well.