Health minister seeks advice on curbing youth vaping

With cases of vaping-related illnesses and deaths on the rise in the U.S., Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliott is seeking advice from experts on how to reduce negative health impacts of e-cigarettes on youth.

“Our government takes the issue of youth vaping very seriously,” Elliott said in a statement. “This is a situation that appears to be growing, not abating.

“In response, we are looking at what the situation is here in Ontario and what can and should be done to protect the health of young Ontarians.”

In recent weeks, both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Health Canada have issued warnings about vaping after hundreds of cases of lung illness and five deaths related to vaping were recorded in the United States. There have been no similar cases reported in Canada.

Canadian officials are monitoring the situation in the U.S. Last week, Health Canada warned people who vape to monitor themselves for symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing and chest pain.

In the U.S., officials at the CDC have warned people not to use vaping products while the cause of the illnesses known as vape lung are being investigated. As of Friday, the CDC reported 450 possible cases of lung illness associated with e-cigarettes and five deaths, spread throughout the U.S.

The investigation has not identified any specific substance or e-cigarette product linked to all cases, but the CDC said many patients report using e-cigarette products with liquids that contain cannabinoid products such as THC.

Although there have been no such reported cases in Canada, smoking experts say it would be naive to think there will not be any.

Vaping rates among young people have been increasing steadily, despite the fact that they can’t legally buy them and the products and marketing are not supposed to appeal to young people.

The situation is so bad that high schools in Ottawa have been forced to remove washroom doors to try to cut down on vaping in the school.

Ontario’s Ministry of Health has been in touch with “leading organizations,” said spokesman Travis Kahn. It is too early to point to any potential policy changes, he said.

“As a first step, we want to engage with the experts to better understand the challenge and to begin to identify potential solutions.”

One of the province’s experts in the area, Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit and professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, has already accused the provincial government of “speaking out of both sides of its mouth” on the issue.

Unlike tobacco, which cannot be promoted inside stores in Ontario, the provincial government opted to allow e-cigarette companies to promote their products inside convenience stores, as long as they comply with federal laws. The federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act bans any promotion of tobacco or vaping products that may appeal to young persons.

Critics have asked the province to treat e-cigarette products the same as tobacco and ban all promotions in convenience stores.

Kahn said the health minister will consult with experts in “informal roundtables” in coming weeks on vaping.