Health Canada and its Quebec counterpart are investigating a vaping ad by Imperial Tobacco to see if it violates advertising laws, reports CBC.
The ad warns of “an epidemic of disinformation” and “hypocrisy” surrounding vaping.
The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act states that it is illegal to “promote a vaping product, including by means of the packaging, by comparing the health effects arising from the use of the product or from its emissions with those arising from the use of a tobacco product or from its emissions.”
Imperial’s “Facts not Fear” website appears to violate that section of the law on the home page and at least seven times on the three pages accessible from the main site, according to Health Canada.
“Everything we do, from our point of view, is legal,” said Eric Gagnon, head of corporate and regulatory affairs for Imperial. “We’ll never do anything illegal. I can assure you that the advertisement, the campaign ahead of publishing looked at every detail, and we consider the advertisement to be legal.”
Imperial appears to have made slight changes to the website recently, removing references to its Vype vapor device.
“Inspectors are currently reviewing the ad and the associated websites,” the federal health minister’s office said.