Combatting the continuing rise in youth vaping rates

“Our reaction is that we are not surprised that our smoking rates for youths are as high as they are, because we have not been doing the things we need to be doing to address those smoking rates,” Donna Pasiechnik, a Saskatchewan health policy analyst for the Canadian Cancer Society told paNOW.

“Our tobacco control laws are woefully out of date. We have not had any new legislation since 2009 despite all these new issues that have come up and as a result we’ve seen that national average go down and Saskatchewan’s go up.”

According to the University of Waterloo, although teen smoking rates in Saskatchewan are higher than the rest of the country, they are still on a downward trend.

A recent study from the British Medical Journal showed the number of Canadian teens who regularly vape nearly doubled in one year, showing the first evidence of how vaping rates changed after they were legalized and new companies entered the market.

The findings are based on a survey taken of Canadian youths between 16 to 19 years old, conducted in 2017 and 2018. The surveys found the number of teens who reported vaping in the past week rose to 9.3 per cent in 2018 from 5.2 per cent in 2017. The number of those who said they had vaped in the previous month rose to 14.6 per cent in 2018 from 8.4 per cent in 2017.

Following the release of a new ad campaign in the United States on Monday designed by the Food and Drug Administration, aimed at combatting youth vaping rates, paNOW spoke with the owners of Prince Albert’s Inspired Vapor Company, who said they feel vape shops are often unfairly targeted.

“Our basic guideline when people come in the store, is if you look under 25, we are going to ID you. You must be 18 to enter, not just to buy stuff, but to even come inside,” Co-owner Blaine Tetz said.

“Last week alone I asked three or four people to leave the store because they either didn’t have an ID on them, or they failed to produce it. We don’t want to contribute in any way to contributing to the teen vaping epidemic.”

Tetz runs the store with his son and co-owner Kevin. Both told paNOW that although recent studies have shown vaporizers to be a healthier alternative to smoking, neither hope to see patrons continue to be addicted to nicotine.

Both owners noted the company has a code of ethics and values, which states they hope to see those transferring from cigarettes to vaporizers also make the transition from vaporizers to a nicotine free lifestyle.

“One of the main things we stress is that it is safer than smoking, but it is definitely better not to do either,” Kevin said. “But that being said, we’re not the police and we don’t tell people what to do. But we always recommend our customers the lowest possible nicotine available.”

Blaine added he hopes to see vaporizers pulled from the shelves of gas stations, adding he views it as an unfair practice to allow gas stations to sell vaporizers in display stands at checkouts, when such hard regulations have been imposed on traditional vape shops in the country in recent years.

“The main sentiment in the industry isn’t making a quick buck and trying to get out, it’s to help people,” Blaine said. “Our main mission statement is to help people quit smoking. I quit smoking, my wife quit smoking and my daughter quit smoking. We want to help people quit.”

A $5,000 fine can be given to the store for a first offence of selling vaporizer products to a minor, with a $1,500 fine for any employee caught selling to underage individuals. The fine for a repeat offence of selling to youth can go as high as $150,000 in Canada.

Both owners told paNOW they believe the industry is often painted in an unflattering light, noting that in recent years teen smoking rates have fallen, although in part to a rise in teen vaping.The owners added ad campaigns will have to avoid scare tactics in order to influence youth to stop using vaporizers.

Lorel Trumier, director of education with the Prince Albert Catholic School Division, spoke with paNOW about the issue of teens using vaporizers. She noted that the use of vaporizers is strictly forbidden on any school grounds.

“I applaud any lawmakers or organizations that seek to educate students about anything that is harmful to them,” Trumier said.

“We use the Saskatchewan Government curriculum to help educate our students to make informed decisions about anything that could be harmful to them. I think students are capable of making good decisions, we just need to keep supporting them.”

In February, Canada’s Minister of Health Ginette Petitpas Taylor, announced an intent to further restrict vaping advertisement and promotion in response to the youth vaping rate within the country.

Those restrictions included a proposal for additional advertising restrictions on vaping and a new public education campaign targeted at young people.

“I am deeply concerned about recent reports that youth vaping is on the rise. This includes stories coming out of schools across Canada, and emerging data suggesting that young Canadians are taking up vaping at an alarming rate. I am hearing from parents, educators and the health care community that they share my concerns about youth vaping,” Petitpas Taylor said.

“We cannot allow these products to threaten the hard-earned gains we’ve made in tobacco control. The proposed regulatory measures and our public awareness campaign will drive home the message: If you don’t smoke, don’t vape.”

The Government of Canada website features a variety of information for parents to help speak to youth about vaping and the risks of nicotine products. The site encourages parents to avoid criticism and host open dialogue with teens, and present the dangers of using nicotine products. The website also notes that data from a recent Health Canada survey showed that 23 per cent of students in Grades 7 through 12 have tried an electronic cigarette.

The newly released campaign designed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, aimed at teaching youth the dangers of vaping as part of its “The Real Cost” Youth E-Cigarette Prevention Campaign, began airing on a number of TV Channels and online platforms Monday.

The ads, titled Magic, feature online celebrity magician Julius Dein magically transforming teens’ vapes into cigarettes.

“Did you know that if you vape, you are more likely to start smoking cigarettes?” Dein says to the teens in the commercial. With magic, the vaporizer in one teen’s hand is replaced by a traditional cigarette.

“It’s not magic, it’s statistics,” the ad says.

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Brady.bateman@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TheDigitalBirdy

by Brady Bateman

Combatting the continuing rise in youth vaping rates

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