Half measures are not enough
Health Canada’s new measures to curb youth vaping are akin to trying to put out a house fire with a garden hose.
After months and months of studies and consultations, and years of health organizations sounding the alarm on the dangers of vaping, the agency announced it is planning to ban e-cigarette promotions from convenience stores, public transit and all social media platforms. That’s all to the good. But, unbelievably, it isn’t yet ready to follow the recommendations of numerous health experts and restrict the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes or set limits on nicotine levels.
This tepid response to a burgeoning health concern comes as the government also announced that the number of students in Grades 7 to 12 who have used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days doubled in the past year.
But, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the government’s go-slow approach is “to leave room for proper science. We’re a government that works on evidence-based decisions.” Really? How about this for evidence: A recent survey conducted by Smoke-Free Nova Scotia found 96 per cent of 16- to 18-yearolds who vaped said they preferred flavoured products. Further, many said they would likely stop vaping if flavours were eliminated.
The tobacco giants who sell vaping products have been able to keep government regulations at bay by insisting they need to be able to provide a range of flavours to encourage existing adult smokers to change over to a safer product. But it’s getting tougher to buy that argument. First, e-cigarettes are now being blamed for causing pulmonary illnesses in a handful of cases in Canada and more than 2,000 cases in the U.S., including at least 47 deaths.
Second, does the government really believe the tobacco giants are actually trying to lure adult smokers to e-cigarettes with flavours such as cherry cheesecake and strawberry ice cream?
This is not the time to dither. Ottawa’s head-in-the-sand approach poses dangerous consequences for youth.
Indeed, the Ontario youth who ended up on life-support after vaping daily for five months says he was trying all the different flavours such as green apple and cotton candy.
And the cases of pulmonary illness associated with vaping may just be the beginning.
Doctors and health organizations such as the Ontario Medical Association, the Canadian Cancer Society and Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco have been warning governments for years about the health risks posed by e-cigarettes.
Not only can they cause decreased lung function, allergic reactions and respiratory inflammation, as Toronto’s medical officer of health warned way back in 2014, but studies indicate that vaping is a gateway to smoking, which causes lung and esophageal cancers, heart disease and stroke.
This is not some far-off threat. For the first time in 30 years, the number of teens who reported smoking is up. The time to prevent more kids from getting hooked is now. But, for some reason, the federal government is taking its own sweet time and unconscionably letting Big Tobacco put the health of young people at risk, once again.
After all, as we learned from their successful tobacco marketing campaigns, hooking kids is as easy as one, two three:
Catch them before they turn19 by adding flavours to nicotine products; spend a fortune on “cool” advertising that appeals to youth; and insist you are actually targeting adults so governments won’t take action to curb your access to a vulnerable market.
The Trudeau government says it will look at other measures to curb vaping in the New Year.
That’s what they said last year. And that’s clearly not good enough, fast enough.
It’s time to put out this three-alarm fire with every measure available before more kids get hooked on nicotine and cigarettes and end up in hospital on ventilators, or worse.