Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph’s medical officer of health is calling recommendations by Ontario’s top doctor around alcohol, vapes, cannabis and tobacco an “important piece of the puzzle” when it comes to addressing substance abuse.
In his annual report, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore made several recommendations involving restricting access to legal substances and making treatment more accessible.
Dr. Nicola Mercer told the Board of Health this week she believes it sets the foundation for important conversations about addressing substance abuse.
She said tobacco is the number one cause of death in the province, followed by alcohol and opioids. Although there are jobs and revenue tied to these industries, “it’s also important to recognize that there are harms associated with using these legal products inappropriately.”
Among the recommendations she showed support for were raising the age of consumption from 19 to 21, increasing taxes on tobacco and vape products and banning flavoured vape products.
“Rather than taking away people’s choice to use these legal products, it really is, how do we balance it with the harms and the cost to our society,” she said.
Ontario has the second lowest taxes on tobacco and vape products in Canada, “so there is room to raise the taxes.”
While people currently using those products won’t be happy to hear that, she said there is a chance it will deter youth from using them.
“We do know that youth are very price sensitive,” she said. “So if you raise the taxes, it actually does cause fewer people to begin to use them.”
She also agreed with Moore’s suggestion to raise the age of purchase for vape, cannabis, nicotine and alcohol products to 21 rather than 19, calling it “a very important piece of the puzzle to stop our youth who are using these products.”
Likewise, she agreed flavoured vape products should be banned.
“Children are really attracted to cherry, bubble gum and candy-flavoured vapes. So if you’re not marketing to children, you don’t need those flavours.”
Moore also recommended banning disposable vape products, which Mercer said she will come back to the board with a full report on.
“I’m not sure if people realize that disposable vaping products contain batteries,” she said. “They are a significant health hazard for our environment.”
Mercer also nodded to Moore’s recommendation of restricting online advertising and setting maximum concentrations for THC.
Alcohol abuse was also a large concern. She said alcohol misuse is common and a “very high burden in our society.”
“But it’s more than just restricting access to alcohol. I want to see some of the suggestions that our Chief Medical Officer of Health has said in his report.”
That includes addressing access to equitable treatment, which can be a challenge.
Unless you have a drug plan that covers treatment, it can be expensive and difficult to access.
“The CMOH has made some recommendations I think are really important, such as establishing a recommended wait time for Ontarians to access addiction and mental health treatment services.”
While the wait time isn’t currently measured, she said it can be long, and varies depending on who you are and where you live in the province.
When people want to quit, “in our community, we do not have a detox centre. You have to go to Kitchener or Waterloo and the wait list is very long. That’s not equitable or rapid or timely or supportive if the individual is wanting to stop their substance.
“Also ensuring access to evidence-based treatments, including pharmacotherapy, as part of long-term and residential treatment programs, is very important to society,” she said.
Mercer did not discuss Moore’s controversial suggestions to decriminalize simple possession of unregulated drugs for personal use.
