The Official Opposition will introduce amendments to the law governing the sale of tobacco and vaping products in the upcoming session of the Legislature that would ban the sale of flavored juices for vaping in the province.

“We’ve already banned flavoured tobacco in the province to discourage smoking among younger people who tend to be attracted to that type of product,” said Moncton South MLA Cathy Rogers.

“This is a logical next step to ban the flavoured products that are sold for vaping,” Rogers said. “Vaping is a serious hazard to our health, just like smoking, and the more we can do to reduce vaping among young people the better.

“Smoking and vaping can lead to long-term health issues, and doing more to reduce high rates of smoking in New Brunswick will lead to a healthier population,” Rogers added. 

Liberal leader Kevin Vickers recently pointed to prevention and wellness as a key issue in better managing our health care system. Things like high rates of smoking and obesity in New Brunswick lead to chronic health problems that place a greater stress on the health system at large. 

The changes to the law would mirror steps already taken by the governments of Nova Scotia and PEI. 

“This is a simple change and it’s the right thing to do,” Rogers said. “I anticipate support across party lines for this and I think everyone would agree, the sooner we can get these products out of the hands of young people the better off we will be.”