Anti-nicotine groups in Canada have wanted a flavor ban for a long time. Now, those groups worry that a flvor ban in the country is “unlikely.”

Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, said she and representatives from a number of anti-smoking organizations met this week with a senior staff member for Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks.

“We left the meeting with the firm belief that we are not going to see a ban on vaping flavors this year,” she said. “We are greatly disappointed.”

Callard said the official gave a range of logistical reasons for why the restrictions weren’t going ahead — including the limited time left to enact them as the Liberal government stares down a potential spring election.

“We were told that this would not be one of the things that’s prioritized in the next few weeks,” she said. “I don’t believe that the current circumstances in Ottawa are the real reason that it’s not happening.”

Callard said the official gave a range of logistical reasons for why the restrictions weren’t going ahead — including the limited time left to enact them as the Liberal government stares down a potential spring election, media reports.

“We were told that this would not be one of the things that’s prioritized in the next few weeks,” she said. “I don’t believe that the current circumstances in Ottawa are the real reason that it’s not happening.”

Health Canada first promised in June 2021 to restrict vape flavors to mint, menthol and tobacco, citing multiple studies that showed fruity and sweet flavors are more likely to appeal to youth and be seen by them as less harmful.

The federal government then spent more than three years in consultations and was set to bring in those regulations in June 2024.

That didn’t happen.