Is Canadian federal legislation effective in preventing youth access to vaping initiation products? A study using secret shoppers and online access in three Alberta cities

• Main Authors: Sebastian Kilcommons, Simonne Horwitz, Seong Eon Ha, Kirsten Ebbert, Lea Restivo, Mary-Claire M. Verbeke, Ally Hays-Alberstat, Lorcan Cooke, Cameron Mackay, Mark Anselmo, Ian Mitchell, Christopher J. Doig, Juliet R. Guichon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020-09-01
• Series: Preventive Medicine Reports
• Subjects: Nicotine vaping initiation product; Youth access; Retail secret shopper; Online purchasing attempt; Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (Canada, 2018)
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335520300772

The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (Canada, 1997) (the “TVPA”) aims to protect the health of young persons by restricting access to vaping products. We studied whether the TVPA achieves this goal by sending young ‘secret shoppers’ to 120 shops in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer to attempt to buy nicotine-based vaping-initiation products, and by asking minors to purchase the same product online. We used three ‘improper’ shop scenarios: 1. a minor or minors; 2. a young adult with no or invalid identification (“ID”); and 3. a young adult with valid ID but clearly buying for an accompanying minor. Of total vendors, 42.5% (51/120) were willing to sell to the young people (p < .001). Most vendors requested ID in all scenarios (97/120, 80.8%). Of these, 28 vendors (28.9% of those requesting ID), were still willing to sell the product. All vendors who did not request ID (23/120, 19.2%) were willing to sell; vape shops were more likely than convenience stores not to request ID (25.4% v. 13.1%). In five online purchase attempts, 60% of deliverers did not meet the TVPA’s ID verification requirements. The TVPA does not require packages to reveal their contents; one parent inadvertently signed for the parcel. To prevent youth access, the TVPA should require: a minimum nicotine product purchase age of 21, positive obligations on vendors to request ID, prohibition of sales to adults buying for minors, and that manufacturers disclose the product on posted or delivered parcels. The TVPA should be strictly enforced.