Surrey council wages war on vaping
Published 9:28 am Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Surrey council has backed Coun. Gordon Hepner’s call to wage war on vaping in this city.
Hepner presented a notice of motion on Feb. 9 aimed at strengthening controls on the sale of vaping products in Surrey, arguing that vaping has become a “serious health concern” in Surrey, especially among the younger set.
Council eagerly approved his motion on Feb. 23.
“I see it around the schools, I see it frankly everywhere where the youth are vaping products that contain nicotine, and nicotine addiction that can quickly develop into more poor habits for teenagers that’s particularly troubling because the brain continues to develop into adulthood, up to 25 years old, and youth can become dependent at lower levels of exposure than adults,” Hepner told council.
“Practical impacts are real. Concentrating, learning, mood, stress, regulation challenges,” he said. “It’s quite disturbing.”
He said with vaping comes “acute risks” of developing serious lung diseases.
“This motion directs staff to bring back the most restrictive legal supportable package from the City’s 2019 bylaw work to material reduce where and how these products can be sold in Surrey with strong limits, licensing controls and enforcement,” Hepner said.
His motion calls on city staff to return to council with a report containing draft bylaw amendments for council’s consideration “including a new business licence for vapour-related product retailers requiring specific licence to sell, offer for sale, provide and distribute these products in Surrey” and “major retail availability reduction measures such a restricting vapour products sales to 19-plus parties and of course prohibiting vapour product sales in general-access retail sales like convenience stores or gas stations.”
Moreover, Hepner called for a city-wide “cap” removing it from “youth-sensitive things like schools, parks, recreation centres and what-not” with “clear consequences for violations.
“If staff could do that, that would be fantastic,” he said.
Coun. Mike Bose cited a news report indicating that of 560 vaping stores sampled across Canada, 48 per cent were operating outside of federal legislation.
“So this is needed to ensure the safety of our young people,” he said in support of Hepner’s motion.
Coun. Harry Bains noted that according to Fraser Health’s website, risks associated with vaping include delayed brain development, memory/mood/concentration and impulse control and also depression, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder and behavioural problems.
“It is a gateway into other substances,” Bains said. “These are the types of things we need to keep out of the hands of children in our community – I know it’s an epidemic in our schools, I hear about it all the time, high schools, even elementary schools, kids are vaping.”
Coun. Doug Elford said he knows someone whose grandchild perished from vaping.
“It is something that I feel strongly about,” he said.
Mayor Brenda Locke said people marketing vaping products to young people, even children, “are out there with special little gadgets that look cool, that look like they’re high-tech, and the flavours are made to attract children.”
“This really does have to be addressed,” Locke said.