‘SMASH IT RIGHT NOW’
Grieving family calling for tougher enforcement to prohibit kids from obtaining nicotine vaping gear
A grieving family is calling for tougher enforcement of laws to prohibit children from obtaining nicotine vaping gear and e-liquid.
Nicotine vaping products are sold in a murky legal grey area, regulated for toxicity under federal consumer law, but not approved for sale by Health Canada.
Fourteen-year-old Kyle Losse of Delta was using an e-cigarette in the bathroom of his family home Sunday when he fell and may have struck his head. He died Tuesday after being placed on life support.
The cause of his death isn’t known.
“It’s just a fad, something kids are trying to do to be cool,” said his stepmother, Niki Losse. “I told Kyle’s friends’ parents, if they have this stuff, take it outside and smash it right now.”
It’s not clear what role — if any — vaping played in Kyle’s death. The liquid he was inhaling tested positive for nicotine, a typical ingredient.
E-cigarettes create an aerosolized mist from a liquid usually containing nicotine and substances for flavour and aroma. The device typically consists of a battery with a heating element that creates steam and a mouthpiece for inhaling the vapour.
E-cigarettes can also be used to inhale THC, the psychoactive substance in cannabis.
“There are supposed to be all these (regulations) in place to protect kids from this,” said Losse, who often stressed the dangers of drugs to her son. “Kids have super-easy access to this stuff; it’s sold in malls and it’s branded to look really fun.”
The e-liquid in Kyle’s possession was bought by the father of an acquaintance, Losse said.
Like tobacco, nicotine e-liquid, or e-juice, isn’t allowed to be sold to persons under 19 in B.C. and e-cigarettes may not be used in indoor public spaces and workplaces.
The federal government is considering legislation aimed at protecting young people from nicotine addiction, with specific measures to limit how vaping products are marketed, especially the promotion of confectionary and dessert flavours appealing to young people.
Bill S-5 — the proposed Tobacco and Vaping Products Act — would also restrict online sales of vaping products to verified adults and restrict “exciting” lifestyle advertising and promotions aimed at youth.
Health Canada hasn’t approved any nicotine vaping products for sale in Canada. They are considered as health products requiring market authorization under the Food and Drugs Act, according to the agency.
While these products haven’t been approved, the agency has classified them under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act.
Vaping liquids with a concentration of nicotine between one per cent and less than 6.6 per cent must meet the guidelines for sale of toxic products, including child-resistant packaging, according to Health Canada. At 6.6 per cent and above nicotine vaping products are considered “very toxic” and prohibited from import and sale.
Without regulatory approval and product testing there is no way of knowing what is in e-liquids being sold in Canada, said Elizabeth Saewyc, a professor in the School of Nursing at the University of B.C.
E-cigarettes appear to be safer than inhaling smoke from burning tobacco and may have some applications in smoking cessation, she said. However, superheating vaping liquid may lead to elevated levels of heavy metals in the vapour.
“There is also some risk that if young people get their start on nicotine using e-cigarettes they may turn to tobacco,” she said. “Nicotine is quite addictive and we’ve spent 30 years getting people to quit.”
The increasing popularity of e-cigarettes has triggered a threefold increase in reports of nicotine poisoning in very young children in the U.S., according to a study published in 2016. In these cases, kids under six ingested nicotine products that come in enticing flavours with colourful packaging.