Subject: Bill 24 and the Danger of Legislating Misinformation
Dear Premier Eby, Attorney General Sharma, and Members of the Legislative Assembly,
My name is Maria Papaioannoy, and I am writing to you not only as a Canadian who vapes but as the founder of Rights 4 Vapers, Canada’s largest consumer movement dedicated to educating and advocating for safer nicotine products. This includes the very vapour products that have helped millions of adult smokers transition away from combustible tobacco that you are targeting with Bill 24.
Like many British Columbians and Canadians, I was flabbergasted to read the recent editorial supporting Attorney General Niki Sharma’s “Vaping Product Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act” (Bill 24) and even calling for a “complete ban” on vaping products.
That position, which was echoed by some MLAs during debate, is not grounded in evidence. It reflects a deep misunderstanding of nicotine science and public-health harm reduction.
Your government is attempting to legislate misinformation, stoke fear in the minds of people who vape, and penalize those adults who have made the choice to reduce smoking by vaping.
At the outset, I want to be clear, we believe that all nicotine products should be sold and used by adults only. There are many regulations and laws already on the books that make it a crime to sell a vapour product to a minor. Enforcement and communications are the best ways to create a balanced approach to regulating safer nicotine products which keeps the products available to adults.
During the second reading debate on Bill 24, members of the Legislative Assembly rose to speak in favour of the Bill. Unfortunately, many of them also spread dangerous misinformation about vaping. It would take many pages to itemize myths. Here are just a few.
The Truth About Vaping and Health
Claim #1: “Vaping is as dangerous as smoking.”
Fact: Vaping is not smoking. The dangers of smoking come from combustion, not nicotine. Burning tobacco produces tar, carbon monoxide, and thousands of toxic chemicals responsible for cancers, COPD, and heart disease. Vaping eliminates combustion. According to Public Health England and the UK Royal College of Physicians, vaping is at least 95 % less harmful than smoking. In B.C. alone, smoking kills approximately 6,000 people every year. Yet there have been no verified deaths attributed to regulated nicotine vapes.
Claim #2: “Vaping causes cancer.”
Fact: This is was particularly egregious. There is no evidence that vaping causes cancer. In fact, if every person who smokes in British Columbia switched to vaping, cancer rates would plummet. You just have to look at the Sweden example. Last year, Sweden became the first country in the world to be Smoke Free by reducing smoking rates to less than five percent thanks to its progressive approach to tobacco harm reduction through safer nicotine products. It now boasts the lowest tobacco-related disease rate in Europe and Swedish lung cancer rates are less than half the European average. Imagine the health care costs that Sweden is SAVING.
Claim #3: “Flavours target kids.”
Fact: Adult ex-smokers depend on flavours to stay smoke-free.
Health Canada’s own data show that two-thirds of adult vapers use non-tobacco flavours to prevent relapse.
Removing flavours pushes people back to cigarettes or to the unregulated black market.
Claim #4: “Vaping is creating an epidemic of disease.”
Fact: There is no epidemic. Canadian hospitals are not overwhelmed by “vaping injuries.” Even Health Canada acknowledges that vaping is far less harmful than smoking.
If there are no real injuries what, exactly, is the Attorney General seeking to recover?
What Bill 24 Really Does
Bill 24 is not about public health.
This legislation allows the government to sue companies retroactively, using “evidence” that cannot be challenged in court effectively acting as both plaintiff and judge This undermines the very principles of justice and transparency that British Columbians expect from their elected officials.
Ms. Sharma’s opening remarks were filled with fear-based rhetoric and unverified claims. Not once did she cite peer-reviewed science or reference experts who have dedicated their careers to harm-reduction research. That is either a failure of due diligence or a deliberate choice to mislead both this Legislature and the public.
An Invitation to Listen to All the Evidence
I have already written to the Times Colonist to correct their editorial misinformation. They chose not to publish my op-ed, but you can find it on our website at rights4vapers.com.
I now extend this same invitation to you, to meet with us and with leading harm-reduction experts, including Dr. Mark Tyndall and Professor David Sweanor. These are not lobbyists or industry figures. They are independent public-health researchers who have spent decades saving lives through evidence-based harm reduction.
Knowledge is our strongest public-health tool. Your government has so far heard only one side of the story, the side that profits politically from fear.
We Call on All MLAs to Act with Integrity
- Refuse to support Bill 24 until an independent, evidence-based consultation is held with scientists, physicians, and consumers.
- Demand full transparency — the Attorney General must publish all data used to justify this legislation.
- Redirect enforcement toward illegal disposable sales and youth access, not adult consumers who use regulated products responsibly.
Please remember that there are many sides to this debate. One thing that I know, there are thousands of British Columbians who will state unequivocally that switching to vaping has saved and extended their lives. And that should concern every Member of this Assembly, regardless of party.
Yours sincerely,
Maria Papaioannoy
Founder, Rights 4 Vapers
📧 info@rights4vapers.com
🌐 www.rights4vapers.com
