The Promotion of Alcohol, Cannabis, Gambling, Tobacco and Vaping Products: A Comparative Analysis of the Potential of Legal Frameworks to Limit Exposure Among Minors

Promotions deemed attractive to minors concerning alcohol, cannabis, gambling, tobacco and vaping are circulating in media outlets and places where minors are very active. This report examines the different legal frameworks in Canada that restrict the commercial promotion of these types of products to minors. The goal is to identify the strengths and limitations of each type of legislation, thus allowing the most effective legal frameworks or provisions to be preserved, while those deemed less effective may be fine-tuned.

Three key items you will learn from this report include:

• The potential of the gambling framework would be the least effective, as federal authorities have simply delegated responsibility for supervision to provincial authorities without imposing any minimum requirements or restrictions.
• The regulation of alcohol promotions would also be among the least effective frameworks. This is because the requirements and restrictions do not apply to most modern forms or channels of promotion distribution such as product placement or social media.
• The frameworks around cannabis and tobacco and vaping products, which have broad similarities, have the greatest potential effectiveness.