Vaping and E-Cigarettes in Canada

Vaping products are legal for adults in Canada. The federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act sets a minimum age of 18 and caps nicotine at 20 mg/mL, while provinces and territories decide the age where you live, which flavours can be sold and where vaping is banned. This section covers the law, the rules by province and where to get help if you want to stop.

Who sets which rule

Ottawa writes the national rules for vaping products: who they can be sold to, how much nicotine they can contain and how they can be promoted. The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act is the starting point, and the vaping laws guide explains it in plain terms. Provinces and territories then add their own layer, and cities can add a third one for parks, patios and doorways.

Numbers to know

• The federal minimum age is 18. Provinces can set a higher one, and many use 19.
• The maximum nicotine strength is 20 mg/mL, in force since 8 July 2021. What 20 mg/mL means is worth a read if the unit is new to you.
• A federal vaping duty applies, and the same amount is added in specified provinces and territories. See vape tax in Canada and prices and taxes.

Start here

If you are not sure what you need, pick the question closest to yours.

• How old do I have to be? Use legal vaping age by province.
• Which flavours can be sold? See vape flavour bans by province.
• I run or work in a shop. Read vape retailer rules, selling to minors: ID checks and penalties, and vaping near schools for the distance rules.
• Disposables, pouches and heated products. There are separate pages on disposable vapes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products.
• Buying or selling. Buying vapes online covers age checks and stamps, and vape advertising rules cover what a brand or shop may say.
• Travelling. Vaping on a plane and travelling with vapes covers what to expect.
• What is in the aerosol, and what are the risks? Start with vapour toxicity and risks and benefits. For one common question, read does vaping cause popcorn lung. Other pages cover teens and vaping and vaping in pregnancy.
• New to vaping. How an e-cigarette works explains the parts, the liquid and the label.
• Cost. Try the vape vs cigarettes cost calculator.
• Throwing one away. How to dispose of vapes and batteries.

Where you can vape

Smoke-free laws usually include vaping. Ontario’s rules treat vaping the same as smoking, and so do Alberta’s. Other provinces differ, so compare them in the provincial and territorial legislation table. Cities can be stricter still, and you can search them in the rules-by-city database.

Health and quitting

We do not give medical advice. Health Canada summarises what is known about the health effects of tobacco and vaping on its website, and a doctor, nurse or pharmacist can talk through your own situation. If you want to stop, how to quit vaping is a practical place to begin, and free quit-smoking help by province lists services, some of which also cover vaping.

Where the rules differ or are unconfirmed

Age, flavour rules and vaping bans change from one province to the next, and they get amended. Each page shows what we could read on an official source on the review date. Where we could not confirm a detail, the page says so instead of filling the gap.