NS INDUSTRY SURVEILLANCE SCAN

Background

Smoke-Free Nova Scotia has identified working towards a tobacco endgame framework as a priority initiative. To support the development of a comprehensive tobacco endgame framework, Smoke-Free NS had an industry surveillance scan completed in 2023 to gain insight into how the tobacco/vape industry conducts business within the province of Nova Scotia and to better understand if current checks and balances in place are successful, as well as any gaps within industry enforcement that should be addressed in future advocacy.

The primary goal of this industry surveillance scan was to collect information on the tobacco and vaping industries’ practices in Nova Scotia since 2018.

Full Report

Methods

Smoke-Free Nova Scotia contracted a researcher to complete the Industry Surveillance Scan with previous experience in tobacco and vaping research. The Industry Surveillance Scan took place over 6-months (January – June 2023). Research for the scan took place across several waves:

  1. An extensive search was conducted to identify all active vape shops in the province.    
  2. Keyword searches were carried out on social media platforms to determine which content was easily accessible to young people living in Nova Scotia.     
  3. A grey literature search of news media stories on tobacco and vaping was conducted.     
  4. An exhaustive search was conducted on the history of the tobacco industry’s involvement in vaping. 
  5. A search was done on the history of tobacco and vaping regulations in each province. 
  6. Interviews were conducted with public health officers to gather information on their experiences with policy enforcement.