Protecting Youth from Vapour Product Harms - by Councillor Alejandra Bravo, seconded by Councillor Paula Fletcher

Local school representatives in our wards have expressed concerns about young people's access to vapour products at specialty vape stores and vapour product retailers, despite the prohibition on sale to those aged under 19. Preventing the harms of vapour product use is also identified as a goal in Our Health, Our City: A Mental Health, Substance Use, Harm Reduction and Treatment Strategy for Toronto . This motion requests Toronto Public Health and Municipal Licensing and Standards to look at strengthening practices and procedures to help protect youth from the harms of vapour products, including when a business is found to have contravened the law repeatedly, ensuring that license holders are aware of their obligations and the penalties for non-compliance, and improving education/outreach. This direction will complement new and ongoing work within Toronto Public Health from which we are also requesting an update as part of the forthcoming Our Health, Our City annual report. This includes the updating of resources and activities for Toronto school boards to reduce the use of and harms associated with the use of vape, cannabis, and tobacco, school-based programs with public health nurses, advocacy for changes to provincial and federal policy, inspection activities as mandated by the Ontario Public Health Standards, and more.

of Health to include, as part of the forthcoming Our Health, Our City Strategy annual report, a review of existing and planned actions to reduce harms associated with cannabis, vaping, and smoking for youth, including outreach and education initiatives for and with schools.