From the street, the red brick building in Picton, Ont., gives few clues about what’s inside. The windows are tinted, the blinds drawn.
A sign with “Stinky Canuck” written in bold blue and red letters, and “Vape Shop” in a smaller font below, is the only indication of what’s for sale.
It’s another message on the glass below that’s catching the eyes of passersby, however.
“The provincial gov’t made us remove our business name from this window,” it shouts in white capital letters.
“The number one reaction is just complete disbelief that that’s what they’re concerned about, with all the other things on our government’s plate, that they’re spending time and money counting the number of signs on vape shops,” said Rowan Warr-Hunter, production manager for Stinky Canuck.
Vape shops allowed 1 sign only
Under the Smoke Free Ontario Act (SFOA), specialty vape shops are permitted to post their business name just once outside their location, and the signs cannot contain any promotional language.
Warr-Hunter said his company first ran afoul of those rules when it hung signs at its three locations in eastern Ontario.
The business was officially called Stinky Canuck, so local health unit officials informed them that including the words “vape shop” was against the rules. The owner legally changed the name to “Stinky Canuck Vape Shop” so the signs could stay, according to Warr-Hunter.
Then in 2022, the business was ordered to remove stickers featuring its name from the store’s windows and doors.
Warr-Hunter said they’d hoped to make their business on Picton Main Street as visible as possible to attract customers.
“I was totally surprised,” he said.
Warr-Hunter compares the restrictions to those forced upon other “adult-only type businesses” that sell alcohol or cannabis.
“The main thing to me is just the double standard, that hypocrisy, where a kid can go and press their hands to the glass of the LCBO and see every product they sell, they can walk past the cannabis store and know exactly what they sell, and we can’t even say our name.”
Ministry standing firm
A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Health said when the regulations under the SFOA are met, including that “display and promotion must not be visible from outside,” specialty vape stores can sell their products.
The rules under the act are specific to tobacco and vapour products, not alcohol or cannabis, Bill Campbell wrote in an email to CBC, adding those products are regulated by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
“We are not considering any changes to SFOA,” he stated.
Advertising for cannabis stores is also tightly regulated when it comes to promotion, especially to prevent marketing to minors, according to Timothy Dewhirst, a marketing and consumer studies professor at the University of Guelph.
There are other parallels, including a requirement that their windows be tinted or frosted so people can’t see in, but there’s a “distinction” for Ontario vape stores when it comes to the single sign rule, he said.
“The idea is that they’re not supposed to be promoting outside where those under 19 years of age would have access, and could be seen as potentially being lured to be curious to try to enter that retailer,” explained Dewhirst, whose research includes marketing and public policy around tobacco, vaping products and cannabis.
Limiting visibility can prove a challenge for companies, he said, describing repetition as an “important cornerstone in advertising.”
“We tend to look more favourably on things that we’re exposed to more often, and it becomes more normalized,” Dewhirst said. “So there is a basis for trying to limit that repetition.”
‘Make it fair’
On a rainy Tuesday afternoon, a cannabis store a short walk up the street from Stinky Canuck’s Picton location illustrated that difference.
Its name could be seen on at least four different signs, including one in bright blue fluorescent lights. A pair of flags with the words “cannabis for curious minds” flapped in the breeze, and stickers along a front deck offered delivery along with a phone number.
A sandwich board on the sidewalk invited passers-by to “enter to explore,” spelling out a detailed list of products.
Warr-Hunter said he has no problem with cannabis stores being able to advertise their wares, but he believes it’s “unreasonable” that vape stores don’t have the same chance.
“When you see that hypocrisy, it feels like it should be one or the other,” he said.
“Either everyone can have their products on display and we control it with ID, or everyone has to hide everything and that’s it. Make it fair across the board at least.”