The percentage of kids in Canada who routinely use e-cigarettes is among the highest in the world, according to recent national data. Experts claim that the federal government’s inaction and the accessibility of flavor-infused vapes are contributing to the crisis’ escalation.
29 percent of Canadian students had ever smoked an e-cigarette, according to the most recent findings of Health Canada’s Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, which polled 61,096 adolescents in grades 7 to 12 from nine provinces between September 2021 and June 2022.
In Canada as a whole, that percentage is down somewhat from 34% in 2018–19, although it is greater in older age groups, with 41% of students in grades 10 to 12 reporting ever using a vaporizer.
In Canada, regular e-cigarette usage is still very common. Although the percentage of students who reported using an e-cigarette in the previous month has decreased from 20% in 2018–19 to 17%, it is still higher in grades 10 to 12 with over 24% of monthly users.
All students questioned reported daily vaping rates of 8%, while students in grades 10 to 12 reported rates of close to 12%, which experts say are among the highest levels ever recorded internationally.
According to data from a renowned Canadian expert on adolescent vaping, a public health professor at the University of Waterloo, Canada has one of the highest rates of teenage vaping in the world, particularly when it comes to daily vaping.
The figures are greater than they were five years ago, when only 10% of students reported using an e-cigarette in the previous 30 days and 11% claimed daily use in the academic year 2016–2017, indicating a rising issue that shows no signs of abating.
The new teenage vaping survey data also largely precedes the broad accessibility of disposable vapes, which debuted last year and are associated with a rise in youth vaping. Disposable vapes include thousands of pre-loaded puffs and don’t require refilling or cartridges.
Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society, stated, “We’re very concerned by the long-term issue that e-cigarette use by teenagers continues to be very high — unacceptably high.”
We need the federal government to act right away to outlaw flavoured e-cigarettes, a factor that is fueling these high rates.
The survey found that 63% of pupils in grades 7 to 12 who vaped in the previous month had chosen a fruit taste most frequently when asked what flavour they preferred.
There is no doubt that flavours are a very big part of youth vaping — they appeal to kids, they’re one of the reasons why they start trying it in the first place, and fruit flavours and candy flavours are a big part of that.
Flavours have a much bigger relative influence in youth vaping than it does for adults. The main reason adults vape is to help them quit smoking or not die from smoking.
To the contrary, Canada’s young cigarette smoking rates have continued to decline significantly, with just 14% of Canadian high school students claiming ever having smoked a cigarette, down from 19% in 2018–19, and only 4% reporting smoking every day.
When you take into account both smoking and e-cigarettes, overall nicotine consumption is unfortunately rising. A new generation is developing a nicotine addiction, which is a huge problem that needs to be addressed right away by the government.
Health Canada is’sitting on its hands’ in regards to child vaping.
In June 2021, the federal government raised concerns about the “rapid increase in youth vaping in Canada” and suggested amendments to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act to control the sale of “desirable flavours” that were contributing to the rise in teen use.
However, two years later, as observed by experts, Canada continues to have some of the highest rates of youth vaping in the world, and little has been done to control tastes at the federal level.
Health Canada is aware of and very concerned about the high rate of youth vaping in Canada, a spokeswoman told CBC News in an email. They said that they are still examining input from their public consultations on flavouring vapes, which ended in September 2021.E-cigarettes have never been authorised as smoking cessation aids in Canada, despite the fact that vaping has been promoted as an efficient way to stop smoking.
In order to make vaping goods “less appealing to youth,” the federal government proposed restricting flavours for e-cigarettes, including cereal milk, cotton candy, “unicorn milk,” and “dragon’s blood,” while still providing adults seeking to stop smoking with some flavour options.
However, experts and health campaigners claim that Health Canada appears to have put the proposal on hold, abandoned plans to further regulate flavours that appeal to teenagers, and given the sector and the provinces the responsibility for taking action.
In the absence of federal legislation, numerous territories and provinces have acted. The sale of the majority of e-cigarette flavours is now prohibited in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I., and Quebec in an effort to reduce underage vaping.
In July 2021, Health Canada will implement new regulations limiting the quantity of nicotine permitted in e-cigarettes to a maximum of 20 milligrammes per millilitre. However, it has not put any restrictions on flavours into effect. According to Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, “the reason we’re not seeing much lower rates of vaping in those provinces is that the flavour restriction is not having any effect on their access.”
“The provincial limits won’t take effect until federal action… It is really troubling that Health Canada is essentially doing nothing while this issue persists at such a severe level.
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