Federal government agency Health Canada has issued a tender notice to suppliers for the purchase of one million ‘very low-nicotine’ (VLN) cigarettes as part of its tobacco control strategy, CBC news reported.

Health Canada asked in the tender notice how much one million of the VLN cigarettes would cost and how they could be safely stored without the quality of the sticks deteriorating.
Spokeswoman for the agency, Rebecca Purdy, reportedly said the government had issued the tender to learn more about the availability of the cigarettes for research applications. “[This is a] preliminary inquiry and does not necessarily signal intent to carry out the research,” Purdy was quoted by CBC as saying.
The US Food and Drug Administration said last year it intends to make use of VLN cigarettes, which have less than 0.4mg of nicotine per stick, as part of a new tobacco control strategy.