Menthol and Flavoured Tobacco Rules: What Is Prohibited

Menthol is a flavour, and Canada’s tobacco law treats flavours in two stages. The first banned flavouring additives in most cigarettes and small cigars. The second closed the gap for menthol, which had been the main flavour left.

The federal rules

Flavouring additives. Schedule 1 of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act prohibits additives that have flavouring properties or that enhance flavour in cigarettes, little cigars, blunt wraps and certain cigars (those with a non-spiral wrapper or tipping paper). Item 1.1 covers some spiral-wrapped cigars weighing 1.4 g to 6 g. Products made or sold for export are excepted. The schedule sets the ban by product type, so a flavoured product outside those types is not caught by item 1.

Menthol. Menthol (item 1.2) and cloves (item 9.1) are listed as prohibited additives. The route there had two steps. The Order Amending the Schedule to the Tobacco Act (Menthol), SOR/2017-45, prohibited menthol in cigarettes, blunt wraps and most cigars from 2 October 2017. Health Canada then stated that a total prohibition against the use of menthol in tobacco products came into force on 19 November 2018.

Flavour promotion. The same Health Canada statement described restrictions, also starting 19 November 2018, on promoting flavours that appeal to youth, such as candy, desserts or soft drinks, in vaping products. Federally, the Act (Schedule 3) names five categories: confectionery, dessert, cannabis, soft drink and energy drink.

What the schedule does not list. Item 1 does not name waterpipe tobacco, and a water pipe itself is defined as an accessory; see waterpipes for how that plays out. We have not tried to give a complete federal list for every cigar or pipe tobacco product, and cigar sizes and wrappers matter.

Provinces and territories

The second legislative review says some provinces and territories have further restricted flavours in all tobacco products, including large cigars and pipe tobacco. Nova Scotia is the example we could verify. Its flavoured tobacco ban took effect on 31 May 2015 under the Tobacco Access Act and covers flavoured cigarettes, cigarillos, most cigars, pipe tobacco, rolling papers and non-smoked products such as chewing tobacco and snuff, including menthol. The province’s release quoted a health charity representative saying Nova Scotia was the first place in the world with a flavoured tobacco ban in effect that includes menthol.

Exemptions were set by regulation: pipe tobacco flavoured with port, rum, wine or whiskey, and cigars in those flavours that weigh at least 5 grams and cost at least $4. E-cigarettes and e-juice were not covered by the 2015 law.

For vapes, the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health states that Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Quebec have banned all flavoured nicotine vaping products. It recommends limiting flavoured products to tobacco flavour only and says federal action would be preferred for national consistency. A table of provincial vape rules is planned at vape flavour bans by province.

Gaps in what we can report

The second legislative review records that one respondent wanted descriptors such as “smooth” banned because they could portray a more enjoyable experience, which shows the debate has moved past named flavours to marketing language. We found no official post-ban figure for menthol cigarette sales that we could verify, so we do not quote one.

Back to the tobacco regulation hub, or see federal smoking laws for age limits and other basics.