A great day for health care
I was privileged to be on hand for a very special evening in the P.E.I. legislature on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
It was a night when all members of our legislature took a principled stand on behalf of the welfare of Prince Edward Islanders, in particular our most precious resource — the youth.
The House gave unanimous consent to second reading of Bill 112, the Tobacco and Electronic Smoking Device Sales and Access Act.
Among other things, the act: 1. increases the minimum legal sales age for tobacco and e-cigarettes to age 21, 2. restricts the sale to tobacconist shops for electronic smoking devices, and 3. establishes regulatory authority to restrict e-cigarette flavours.
Information provided to legislators by the P.E.I. divisions of the Canadian Cancer Society, Lung Association and Heart & Stroke Foundation, says youth vaping has become a public health crisis. In June, a study published in the British Medical Journal regarding youth vaping rates in Canada, found that between 2017 and 2018, youth vaping rates increased by a stunning 74 per cent among Canadian teens aged 16-19.
In the United States, 18 states have adopted age 21 legislation for tobacco and vaping products. The three P.E.I. health agencies say it’s inevitable that this legislation will be adopted by Canadian provinces and urged Prince Edward Island to take the lead.
Credit for the bill’s initiative goes to Cory Deagle, the PC member for Montague-Kilmuir. To their non-partisan credit, MLAs gave ample praise to Deagle for moving the private member’s bill.
And, unlike many such bills, this one struck a chord with politicians from all three sides of the house. That’s because when it comes to the health of Islanders, and the dangers posed by cigarette and e-cigarette smoking (vaping), there is only really one side to take. On Tuesday evening, all of P.E.I.’s MLAs — the PCs, the Greens and the Liberals — stood up for what is right and safe for Islanders. For that, they deserve great credit.
Some praise for a youthful display of social conscience should also go to members of the Kings County Kings Midget AAA hockey team, especially their captain, Jacob MacPhee, who addressed the legislators in support of Bill 112.