5 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,N ovem ber 7,2019 insidehalton.com Guitar, Piano, Drums, Vocal & Ukulele ratiuG ,smurD elelukU & MUSIC LESSONS Sign up toda y... Sign up toda y... Sign up toda y... Sign up toda y... • No RegistRat ioN Fees • No CoNtRaC ts • PRIVATE - oN e oN oNe • all ages wel Come • all levels av ailable, R to advaNC ed 905.257.3110 • theguitarworldoakville.com 380 Dundas St. E. at trafalgar Road in longo's Plaza 905.257.3110905.257.3110 • theguitarworldoakville.comtheguitarworldoakville.com Expert Service and World Class Repairs all la begib NNeR to advaNCNCed HUGE SELECTION OF GUITARS, AMPS, UKULELES, ACCESSO RIES & MORE! MuSical inStruMEntS MuSic lESSonS With cases of vaping-re-With cases of vaping-re-W lated illness and death start- ing to emerge, Halton Re- gion is urging the province to beef up regulations that govern vape products. Regional council passedRegional council passedR a motion during its meeting last month that calls on the minister of health to imme- diately remove exemptions in the Smoke-Free Ontario Act so that retailers of vape products will be prohibited from promoting their mer-from promoting their mer-f chandise, subjecting them to the same restrictions as tobacco products. The motion goes on to re- quest that vape product re- tailers with one registered sales conviction be subject to Smoke-Free Ontario's au- tomatic prohibition clause, meaning they would be banned from selling or stor- ing vaping products on-site for a prescribed time period. for a prescribed time period. f Currently these retailers are subject to monetary fines only, while tobacco re-fines only, while tobacco re-f tailers with a history of non- compliance face automatic prohibition after two regis- tered sales convictions. In a report to council, Halton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hamidah Megha- ni detailed alarming statis- tics about vaping and its im- pact on health. By the end of September, the United States Centres for Disease Control and Pre-for Disease Control and Pre-f vention had 805 confirmed or probable cases of severe pulmonary disease linked to vaping and 12 deaths. In Canada, one con- firmed case has been report-firmed case has been report-f ed in Quebec, and one possi- ble case is under investiga- tion in Middlesex-London. "All reported cases of vaping-related severe pul- monary disease have a his- tory of vaping cannabis, nic- otine or both in the 90 days prior to illness," said Megh- ani, noting the majority of cases described were among youth and young adults.youth and young adults.y "The investigation to date has not identified any spe- cific vapour product or sub- stance that is linked to all cases." With vape products cur-With vape products cur-W rently exempt from promo- tion restrictions in the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, the products are widely marketed on the internet and at convenience stores, gas stations and grocery stores. "Evidence shows that youth who are exposed toyouth who are exposed toy vapour product advertising through various channels are significantly more likely to use the products," added Meghani. While it's illegal to sell vape products to people un- der 19, Halton's medical offi- cer of health said vaping re- tailers "repeatedly contra- vene" minimum age restric- tions. Halton's public health in- spectors enforce the age re- strictions for tobacco and vape products and regularly conduct unannounced youth access checks at localyouth access checks at localy businesses. Meghani said they use a "progressive" enforcement approach that includes the use of education, warnings and graduated charging op- tions to reflect the frequen- cy and severity of the level of non-compliance. While she had recom- mended the province be asked to implement an auto- matic prohibition clause for vaping product retailers with two registered sales convictions - putting them on par with tobacco retail- ers - Oakville Councillor Tom Adams said he'd ratherTom Adams said he'd ratherT see a "one strike and you're out" system. He put forth a motion amendment to that effect, which was supported by his council colleagues. Locally, municipalities are starting to examine what they can do to crack down on vaping issues. Oak- ville Coun. Jeff Knoll said a town bylaw, with regula- tions around licensing for businesses that sell vaping products, is expected in the new year, while Burlington Coun. Lisa Kearns said the city's council will be looking into what can be done to pro- hibit advertising of vaping products, particularly around schools. A letter from regional chair Gary Carr detailing Halton's requests on the matter will now be sent to the minister of health and also circulated to all Halton MPPs. HALTON CALLS FOR CRACK DOWN ON VAPING RETAILERS While it's illegal to sell vape products to people under 19, Halton's medical officer of health said vaping retailers "repeatedly contravene" minimum age restrictions. Torstar file photo MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@ metroland.com COUNCIL