Bill 66 2012

An Act to amend the Smoke-Free Ontario Act to prohibit certain tobacco products

Note: This Act amends the Smoke-Free Ontario Act.  For the legislative history of the Act, see the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History at www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

   1.  Subsection 1 (1) of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act is amended by adding the following definitions:

"new tobacco product" means a tobacco product that has never been lawfully sold or distributed in Ontario, but does not include a new brand of a tobacco product; ("nouveau produit du tabac")

"smokeless tobacco product" means a tobacco product that is inhaled or chewed, including snuff. ("produit du tabac sans fumée")

   2.  (1)  Subsection 6.1 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "unless the flavoured cigarillo has been prescribed" at the end and substituting "unless the flavoured cigarillo is mentioned in subsection (3)".

   (2)  Subsection 6.1 (2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Flavoured tobacco products

   (2)  No person shall sell or offer to sell a flavoured tobacco product at retail or for subsequent sale at retail or distribute or offer to distribute it for that purpose, unless the flavoured tobacco product is mentioned in subsection (3).

   (3)  Section 6.1 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Exemption

   (3)  Menthol flavoured cigarillos or tobacco products that contain only the following flavouring agents are not subject to the prohibitions imposed by subsections (1) and (2):

    1.  Menthol (CAS 89­-78­-1).

    2.  l-menthol (CAS 2216­-51­-5).

    3.  l-menthone (CAS 14073-­97­-3).

   3.  The Act is amended by adding the following section:

New Tobacco Products

Prohibition

   6.2  No person shall sell or offer to sell a new tobacco product at retail or for subsequent sale at retail or distribute or offer to distribute it for that purpose.

   4.  The Act is amended by adding the following section:

Smokeless Tobacco Products

Prohibition

   6.3  Despite any other provision of this Act, no person shall sell or offer to sell a smokeless tobacco product at retail or for subsequent sale at retail or distribute or offer to distribute it for that purpose.

   5.  (1)  Subsection 15 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "section 5, 6.1 or 9" and substituting "section 5, 6.1, 6.2 or 9".

   (2)  Subsection 15 (1) of the Act, as amended by subsection (1), is amended by striking out "section 5, 6.1, 6.2 or 9" and substituting "section 5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 or 9".

   (3)  The Table to section 15 of the Act is amended by striking out,

 

5, 6.1	0	2,000	100,000
	1	5,000	300,000
	2	10,000	300,000
	3 or more	50,000	300,000

and substituting the following:

 

5, 6.1, 6.2	0	2,000	100,000
	1	5,000	300,000
	2	10,000	300,000
	3 or more	50,000	300,000

   (4)  The Table to section 15 of the Act, as amended by subsection (3), is amended by striking out,

 

5, 6.1, 6.2	0	2,000	100,000
	1	5,000	300,000
	2	10,000	300,000
	3 or more	50,000	300,000

and substituting the following:

 

5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3	0	2,000	100,000
	1	5,000	300,000
	2	10,000	300,000
	3 or more	50,000	300,000

   6.  (1)  Clause 19 (1) (d.1) of the Act is repealed.

   (2)  Clause 19 (1) (d.2) of the Act is repealed.

Commencement

   7.  (1)  Subject to subsections (2) and (3), this Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Same

   (2)  Subsections 2 (2) and 6 (2) come into force one year after the day this Act receives Royal Assent.

Same

   (3)  Section 4 and subsections 5 (2) and (4) come into force five years after the day this Act receives Royal Assent.

Short title

   8.  The short title of this Act is the Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act (Prohibiting Flavoured Tobacco, New Tobacco Products and Smokeless Tobacco), 2012.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends the Smoke-Free Ontario Act.

Subsection 6.1 (1) of the Act currently provides that no person shall sell or distribute a flavoured cigarillo unless the cigarillo is prescribed by the regulations.  This subsection is amended to provide that only menthol flavoured cigarillos are exempt from the prohibition.

Subsection 6.1 (2) of the Act currently provides that if a flavoured tobacco product is prescribed by the regulations, no person shall sell or distribute the product.  This provision is re-enacted to provide that no person shall sell or distribute flavoured tobacco products other than menthol flavoured tobacco products.

Sections 6.2 and 6.3 of the Act are added to prohibit the sale and distribution of new tobacco products and smokeless tobacco products. Section 15 of the Act is amended to provide that it is an offence to contravene sections 6.2 and 6.3.  The amended provisions permit maximum fines up to $50,000 for an individual and up to $300,000 for a corporation if the individual or corporation sells new tobacco products or smokeless tobacco products in contravention of the Act.

The sections of the Bill come into force on various dates.