Catch Up, Canada. It’s time to lead not lag.

Person wrapped in a Canadian flag outdoors.

CANADIANS DESERVE CLEAR AND CONSISTENTLY ENFORCED RULES THAT PROTECT those
underage AND SUPPORT INFORMED ADULT CHOICES.

CATCH UP, CANADA.

CONSISTENCY MATTERS.

Canada's best shot at going smoke-free is when rules make sense.

Today, access to regulated smoke-free alternatives and information about these products can vary depending on where someone lives. Different provincial rules create challenges for retailers, add barriers to consistent enforcement of the illicit market, and throw roadblocks in the way of helping people go smoke-free.

To build a smoke-free future, and stop the illicit market, we need a framework that is clear and consistent across the country.

PATCHWORK DOESN'T WORK

Canadians expect the rules to be fair and consistent. When the rules don't work together illegal markets exploit the gaps.

Fragmented rules can create confusion for adults and retailers, complicate consistent enforcement, and leave openings for illicit products. A coherent national framework can make expectations clearer and help enforcement focus on compliance, underage protection and illegal trade.

PATCHWORK POLICY = MORE PROBLEMS

BRITISH COLUMBIA

A greater variety of flavours beyond tobacco, mint and menthol are legal in specialty vaping stores. Convenience stores may sell only tobacco-flavoured vaping products.

ALBERTA / MANITOBA / NEWFOUNDLAND / LABRADOR

A greater variety of flavours beyond tobacco, mint and menthol are available. No specific retail restrictions on flavoured vaping product sales.

SASKATCHEWAN / ONTARIO

A greater variety of flavours beyond tobacco, mint and menthol are available at specialty vaping stores. Convenience stores may sell only tobacco, mint, and menthol vaping products.

QUEBEC / NOVA SCOTIA / PEI / NEW BRUNSWICK

Only tobacco-flavoured (or unflavoured) vaping products may be sold. Restrictions apply across all retail channels.

SWEDEN’S QUITTING SMOKING. SO CAN CANADA

Sweden has achieved one of the lowest smoking rates in Europe by making smoke-free options widely accessible to smokers, such as nicotine pouches. Canada can quit smoking too, but we need a coherent framework that treats different nicotine products based on the health risks they pose.

Other countries have shown us there's a way, so what does Canada need to do?

HOW DOES CANADA GET CLOSER TO GOING SMOKE-FREE?

INFORMATION & CHOICE

Making sure all smokers have access to the information and choices they have on going smoke-free, including alternatives to cigarettes which do not involve combustion, burning, or smoke.

ADULT-FOCUSED APPROACH

A consistent and adult-focused approach to flavours across Canada, to ensure adult smokers have access to the alternatives they seek to go smoke-free, while keeping nicotine products out of the hands of those underage.

LEGAL ALTERNATIVES

Ensuring availability of legal alternatives to cigarettes that allow adult smokers to go smoke-free, while limiting the opportunity for the illicit market to grow.

Smoke-free options

None of these products are risk-free. They all contain nicotine, which is addictive. But for adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking cigarettes, better choices and alternatives exist. It’s time to get informed.

Heated Tobacco Products

Learn more

Electronic devices that heat tobacco at a controlled temperature—without burning it—to create a nicotine containing vapour.

Vaping Products

Learn more

Vape-pens and e-cigarettes create vapour from a liquid solution. These products contain nicotine but do not contain tobacco.

Nicotine Pouches

Learn more

Smoke-free, vapour-free, and tobacco-free oral products designed for adult nicotine users seeking a non-combustible alternative.

Heated Tobacco Products

Learn more

Electronic devices that heat tobacco at a controlled temperature—without burning it—to create a nicotine containing vapour.

Vaping Products

Learn more

Vape-pens and e-cigarettes create vapour from a liquid solution. These products contain nicotine but do not contain tobacco.

Nicotine Pouches

Learn more

Smoke-free, vapour-free, and tobacco-free oral products designed for adult nicotine users seeking a non-combustible alternative.

Heated Tobacco Products

Vaping Products

Nicotine Pouches

Learn more

Electronic devices that heat tobacco at a controlled temperature—without burning it—to create a nicotine containing vapour.

Learn more

Vape-pens and e-cigarettes create vapour from a liquid solution. These products contain nicotine but do not contain tobacco.

Learn more

Smoke-free, vapour-free, and tobacco-free oral products designed for adult nicotine users seeking a non-combustible alternative.

Learn more

Electronic devices that heat tobacco at a controlled temperature—without burning it—to create a nicotine containing vapour.

Learn more

Vape-pens and e-cigarettes create vapour from a liquid solution. These products contain nicotine but do not contain tobacco.

Learn more

Smoke-free, vapour-free, and tobacco-free oral products designed for adult nicotine users seeking a non-combustible alternative.

CANADA, IT’S TIME TO COME TOGETHER

LET’S BE HONEST—BURNING STINKS. CIGARETTES RELY ON COMBUSTION. SMOKE FREE ALTERNATIVES DON’T.

Whether it’s heated tobacco, vaping products, or nicotine pouches, these options allow adults to consume nicotine without burning—the process that creates smoke when cigarettes are lit.

While these alternatives are not risk-free and still contain nicotine, eliminating combustion is a fundamental difference for adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke.

This isn’t about telling anyone what to do.

It’s about ensuring adults have access to the information they need to make an informed adult choice—for themselves, or for the smoker in their life.

TO LEAD, CANADA NEEDS TO:

RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCES
Not all nicotine products are the same.

REGULATE BY RISK & SCIENCE
Apply consistent, evidence-based regulation from coast to coast to coast.

ENSURE ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Ensure adults can access reliable information wherever they live.

Innovation Has Changed the Game

The world is changing—and so is technology, research, and innovation.

Today, adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking have access to more smoke‑free alternatives than ever before. These products are fundamentally different from cigarettes because they do not involve combustion.

Yet Canada’s laws haven’t kept pace with this reality.

Why Policy Matters Now

Canada has opportunities to modernize the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA). It doesn’t just regulate products, it shapes access to information and helps to accelerate change.

This matters—because the TVPA doesn’t just regulate products. It regulates access to information.

Right now, the Act falls short of recognizing and properly regulating smoke‑free alternatives such as heated tobacco and nicotine pouches. As a result, Canadians are not well informed about the options available—or about how these products differ from cigarettes.

A modern, evidenced-based approach:

- Differentiating smoke‑free alternatives from combustible cigarettes

- Allowing adults access to comparative, accurate scientific information

- Maintaining strong safeguards to prevent underage access

This balanced approach can protect young people and help adults who smoke make better‑informed decisions.

Both goals can—and should—be achieved.

About Unsmoke Canada

Unsmoke Canada was launched on the belief that the best choice is never to start smoking—or to quit entirely. For adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, smoke‑free alternatives exist and should be understood.

These products are not risk‑free. They contain nicotine and are addictive. But because they do not involve combustion, they eliminate smoke—a key difference that matters.

PATCHWORK DOESN'T WORK. THE FUTURE IS SMOKE-FREE, AND IT'S TIME FOR CANADA TO LEAD THE WAY—TOGETHER, AS ONE COUNTRY.