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B.C. Reg. 186/2020
O.C. 426/2020
Deposited July 20, 2020
This consolidation is current to November 5, 2024.
Link to consolidated regulation (PDF)
Link to Point in Time

Public Health Act

E-Substances Regulation

[Last amended April 4, 2022 by B.C. Reg. 87/2022]

Contents
Part 1 — Prescribed Hazards and Activities
1Definitions
2Prescribed health hazards and regulated activities
3No application to out-of-province sales
Part 2 — Sales and Packaging
Division 1 — Sales and Packaging
4Sales restrictions
5Notice required before sale
6Content and volumetric restrictions
7Flavour restriction
8Repealed
Division 2 — Reporting
9Reports generally
10Product reports
11Manufacturing reports
12Sales reports
Part 3 — Enforcement and General
13Delegation of inspection and control powers
14Offences
15Relationship to Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act
16Repealed
Schedule

Part 1 — Prescribed Hazards and Activities

Definitions

1   In this regulation:

"business owner" means the owner of a business that carries on the sale of restricted e-substances;

"cannabis" has the same meaning as in the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act;

"cartridge" includes a cartridge, capsule, pod or similar component of an e-cigarette that is designed to hold an e-substance for heating;

"e-cigarette" has the same meaning as in the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act;

"e-substance" has the same meaning as in the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act;

"flavoured" means having a taste or smell of anything other than tobacco;

"manufacturer" includes

(a) a person who produces, formulates, packages, repackages, prepares or reconditions a vapour product for sale to retailers only, and

(b) a wholesaler, distributor, supplier or other person who sells vapour products to retailers only;

"minor" means a person who is under 19 years of age;

"non-therapeutic nicotine" means nicotine and nicotine salts that are not

(a) Schedule I drugs under the Drug Schedules Regulation, or

(b) expressly excepted as Schedule I drugs under that regulation;

"purchaser" means a person to whom a vapour product is sold

(a) for the person's own use or consumption, or

(b) for use or consumption by another person at the expense of the person to whom the vapour product was sold;

"restricted e-substance" means an e-substance that contains non-therapeutic nicotine;

"retailer" means, subject to section 3 [no application to out-of-province sales], an operator who sells to a purchaser a health hazard prescribed under section 2 (1) [prescribed health hazards and regulated activities];

"sales premises" means the location from which a restricted e-substance is or is intended to be sold;

"sell" means to deal in, sell, offer for sale, distribute or provide, other than distribution or provision by a purchaser for a purpose described in paragraph (b) of the definition of "purchaser";

"vapour product" has the same meaning as in the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act.

[am. B.C. Reg. 87/2022, s. (a).]

Prescribed health hazards and regulated activities

2   (1) For the purposes of the Public Health Act, the following are prescribed as health hazards:

(a) restricted e-substances;

(b) e-substances that do not contain nicotine, nicotine salts or cannabis.

(2) The sale to a purchaser, by a retailer, of a health hazard referred to in subsection (1) is prescribed as a regulated activity.

No application to out-of-province sales

3   This regulation does not apply to an operator who sells vapour products to purchasers through an online platform or mail-order method if the vapour products are not delivered to an address in British Columbia.

Part 2 — Sales and Packaging

Division 1 — Sales and Packaging

Sales restrictions

4   (1) A retailer must not sell an e-substance unless the e-substance contains nicotine, nicotine salts or cannabis.

(2) A retailer must not sell an e-substance that contains both non-therapeutic nicotine and cannabis.

Notice required before sale

5   (1) A retailer must not sell a restricted e-substance from a sales premises unless a notice of intent in respect of the sales premises has been given in accordance with this section.

(2) A notice of intent in respect of a sales premises must be given as follows:

(a) the notice must be given to the minister, in the form and manner required by the minister;

(b) the notice must state

(i) the address of the sales premises, and

(ii) whether minors are permitted on the sales premises;

(c) the notice must be given

(i) at least 6 weeks before a restricted e-substance is first sold from the sales premises, and

(ii) before January 15 of each year that sales are intended to continue.

Content and volumetric restrictions

6   (1) A retailer must not sell a restricted e-substance that contains non-therapeutic nicotine in concentrations greater than 20 mg/mL.

(2) A retailer must not sell a vapour product that exceeds the following maximum capacity:

(a) 30 mL, in the case of a container that holds a restricted e-substance to be used in refilling cartridges;

(b) 2 mL, in the case of a cartridge that holds or is packaged with a restricted e-substance.

Flavour restriction

7   (1) A retailer who sells restricted e-substances from a sales premises to which minors are permitted access must not sell a flavoured restricted e-substance.

(2) A restricted e-substance is deemed to be flavoured for the purposes of this section if the manufacturer or retailer of the restricted e-substance, or a person acting on behalf of either of them, makes a representation that the restricted e-substance is or may be flavoured.

(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), a representation may be made verbally or in writing and be express or implied.

Repealed

8   Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 87/2022, s. (b).]

Division 2 — Reporting

Reports generally

9   A business owner must make a report under this Division to the minister, in the form and manner required by the minister.

Product reports

10   (1) At least 6 weeks before a restricted e-substance is first sold from a sales premises, the business owner must report all of the following information in respect of the restricted e-substance:

(a) the name and contact information of the manufacturer;

(b) the brand name and product name;

(c) the type of product;

(d) the concentration of non-therapeutic nicotine, expressed in mg/mL;

(e) the capacity, expressed in mL, of the following, as applicable:

(i) the container that holds the restricted e-substance;

(ii) the cartridge that holds or is packaged with the restricted e-substance;

(f) a list of all ingredients, expressed in both the common and scientific names, unless one of these names is not available from the manufacturer;

(g) the flavour, if the restricted e-substance is flavoured.

(2) If any of the information reported under subsection (1) changes, the business owner must report the new information within 7 days after first selling the restricted e-substance in respect of which changes have been made at the sales premises.

Manufacturing reports

11   (1) If a retailer produces, formulates, packages, repackages or prepares a restricted e-substance for sale from a sales premises, the business owner must report all of the following information in respect of the restricted e-substance:

(a) the name and contact information of the manufacturer of each ingredient;

(b) both the common and scientific names of each ingredient, unless one of these names is not available from the manufacturer.

(2) A report under subsection (1) must be made at least 6 weeks before the restricted e-substance is first sold from the sales premises.

Sales reports

12   (1) In this section, "reporting period" means the period beginning October 1 of one year and ending September 30 of the next year.

(2) A business owner must, before January 15, report the volume of sales, from the business owner's sales premises, that occurred within the most recent reporting period.

(3) A report under subsection (2) must include the following for each type of vapour product sold:

(a) the number of containers and cartridges sold, divided according to brand name and product name;

(b) the total volume, expressed in mL, of restricted e-substance in the product;

(c) the flavour, if the restricted e-substance in the product is flavoured.

Part 3 — Enforcement and General

Delegation of inspection and control powers

13   (1) In this section:

"administrator" has the same meaning as in the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act;

"enforcement officer" has the same meaning as in the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act.

(2) For the purposes of monitoring compliance with and enforcing this regulation, the administrator and an enforcement officer are authorized under section 125 (4) (a) of the Public Health Act to exercise powers of inspection and control as follows:

(a) the administrator may exercise the powers available to the administrator, and must perform the duties of the administrator, under section 4 (4) of the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act;

(b) an enforcement officer may exercise the powers available to an enforcement officer, and must perform the duties of an enforcement officer, under sections 3 (2) and (3) and 4 (1) and (2) of the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section,

(a) a reference in section 3 or 4 of the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act to "this Act" must be read as a reference to this regulation, and

(b) sections 3 (4) and 4 (3) and (5) of the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act apply if a power referred to in subsection (2) of this section is exercised.

(4) Nothing in this section prevents a health officer from exercising any power or performing any duty under the Public Health Act in relation to the sale of an e-substance by a retailer.

Offences

14   A person who contravenes section 4 (1) or (2), 5 (1), 6 (1) or (2), 7 (1), 10 (1) or (2), 11 (1) or (2) or 12 (2) or (3) commits an offence.

[am. B.C. Reg. 87/2022, s. (c).]

Relationship to Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act

15   For greater certainty, the restrictions and requirements in this regulation are in addition to those imposed under the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act.

Repealed

16   Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 186/2020, s. 16 (5).]

Schedule

Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 87/2022, s. (d).]

[Provisions relevant to the enactment of this regulation: Public Health Act, S.B.C. 2008, c. 28, ss. 111 (1), 115 and 126 (3).]