That’s because she is fiercely opposed to a recent announcement by Health and Wellness Minister Leo Glavine that will put an end to e-cigarette use, or vaping, in public places.
“He claimed he wanted to do it for several months, back when The News did the story in November about the shop,” she said. “I guess he’s finally done it.”
Glavine made the announcement on Thursday that the province would ban e-cigarettes from bars, restaurants and restrict the ways they can be sold, similar to tobacco cigarettes.
Dr. Robert Strang, chief of public health with the Health and Wellness Department in Halifax, noted that for the past year, cigarettes haven’t given public health any comfort.
“There’s a real fear that these will roll back the hard work that’s been done since the 1970s and renormalize smoking,” said Strang. “Rather than helping people quit smoking, they allow them to sustain smoking habits in public environments.”
But not any more. By this spring, if the law passes, it will modify the Smoke-Free Place Act and the Tobacco Access Act to include e-cigarettes.
Since first making headlines with a Cease and Desist order from the National Department of Health, Connors has been trying to communicate with the provincial health minister.
“On multiple occasions, I’ve sent him emails, called and left messages with secretary and tweeted him but he’s never responded. It’s just made me shake my head.”
Glavine told The News in December that he believes public use could result in an acceptance of nicotine usage, an addictive substance.
“That’s really one of the biggest concerns being put forth by those looking at the e-cigarette,” he said.
But the move isn’t holding water with Connors who argued that vaping is specifically geared towards people who want a healthier alternative to smoking.
“I have several customers who switched to vaping from cigarettes and are now reducing their vaping or have switched to non-nicotine juices,” she said. “I had a guy in here who’s been smoking for 68 years and now he’s vaping. How’s that a bad thing?”
Strang admitted that e-cigarettes have some potential as a nicotine replacement therapy but that the sum total of the studies is inconclusive.
“In the U.S., we’ve seen studies that have shown e-cigarettes as a gateway for youth to tobacco.”
Connors, on the other hand, cited numerous studies that have found e-cigarettes to be far less harmful than smoking and a viable alternative.
“I’ve read multiple studies abut it and the health minister’s decision is completely misguided,” she said. “I mean, I’m not selling to people under 19. That’s immoral.”
She’s prepared to call upon Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, a researcher at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Greece, to come to Nova Scotia and set the record straight on e-cigarettes.
“He’s worked hard to get laws changed in Hungary and his research should be reviewed by our government. Glavine’s decision is immoral, premature and based on a theory.”
Strang disagrees and argues that the not knowing the dangers of e-cigarettes is a greater danger to the public than regulating them.
“This decision is based on the understanding of the science we have to date and the previous experience in market control,” said Strang. “That’s the approach we’re taking in Nova Scotia.”
But with the vast majority of her customers between the ages of 50 and 90 who wish to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes, she believes that the decision isn’t based in science.
“It’s all politics, that’s the problem. Health Canada, for over 50 years has witnessed hundreds of thousands of deaths due to tobacco and they still have them on the shelves. Why are they trying to quash vaping?”
Strang noted that the province will be the first in Canada to adopt laws regarding e-cigarettes and with various legislation on their legality around the globe, experiences can be shared and compared.
Connors said she’s not giving up and has no intention of letting this law pass quietly.
“I’ll be on the front lines of the battlefield,” she said. “Even my customers want to know what they can do.”
On Twitter: @NGNewsJohn
