Nova Scotia retailers say the new ban on flavoured tobacco and menthol products could leave them in the red if they can’t sell what’s left in stock before the new rules take effect.
Bill 90 passed its third reading in the Nova Scotia legislature on Tuesday, which means the sale of all flavoured tobacco and menthol products will be banned in the province as of May 31.
The ban includes flavoured rolling papers and tobacco products that are not smoked, such as chewing tobacco and snuff. It does not include port, rum, wine and whiskey-flavoured cigars that weigh five grams or more.
“The ultimate goal of this legislation is to stop children from smoking,” says Barbara Stead-Coyle, the president and CEO of the Nova Scotia chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society.
A study from the Canadian Cancer Society in 2013 found that smoking rates in the Maritimes were above the national average of 15 per cent. Stead-Coyle hopes the ban will help bring those numbers down.
“So we’re hoping that this will keep dangerous tobacco out of the hands of children and begin to break the cycle of addiction to tobacco,” she says.
But some retailers say, while they understand the reason for the ban, they would like to have more time to sell the products they have left in stock.
“In our case, I did a quick inventory the other day, and just for myself alone, I’ll probably be out $3,000,” says Tony Diab, who owns a convenience store in Dartmouth.
He says an extension of six months to a year to implement the changes would be ideal.
If an extension isn’t possible, Diab would like to see some form of reimbursement from the government if he can’t sell his remaining tobacco products before the ban kicks in.
“For a product that’s been around for 80, 85 years, to get rid of it in 30 days, it’s just not possible.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Suzette Belliveau
