November 19–25 is National Addictions Awareness Week. What better time to talk about the phenomenon of vaping and the hold that it has, in particular, on Canadian youth?
Though vaporizers (vapes), or e-cigarettes, first entered the Canadian market around 2004, they didn’t really gain momentum until many years later. Initially presented as smoking cessation devices, they quickly developed a unique appeal to the young market, including many who had never smoked tobacco before.
Canada responded to the device by placing restrictions on vape products similar to those applied to tobacco. Both federally and in Manitoba, you have to be 18 years of age or older to purchase. Some provinces increased the age to 19.
Even so, it’s no surprise that vapes are falling into the hands of youth, and this is producing some worrisome outcomes.
According to the federal government, the Lung Association of Manitoba, and the Manitoba Tobacco Reduction Alliance Inc. (MANTRA), the most recent data available shows that up to 34 percent of Canadian kids in Grades 7 to 12 have experimented with vape products.
Seven percent of middle school children are now using vape products regularly. An alarming 26 percent of high school students are regular users and almost 90 percent of them use vape liquids containing nicotine.
Youth between ages 15 and 19 represent the age group with the highest rate of vaping experimentation across all categories, including that of adults who are trying to quit smoking.
But why are youth drawn to the vaping habit?
The Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey of 2022 collected data from more than 12,000 respondents across the country, representing a weighted total of 32 million Canadian residents aged 15 years and older.
The results point to stress relief as the number one reason youth start vaping, either with or without nicotine. The simple enjoyment of vaping and curiosity about the product came in as a close second and third.
What’s So Bad About Vaping?
In many ways, the vape has been hyped as a significantly safer alternative to smoking. The vaping device operates on a system of heating the vape product, usually a liquid, until it reaches an aerosol state that can be inhaled into the lungs. It leaves the lungs in a cloud of vapour.
This e-liquid may or may not contain nicotine. Products on the local market contain anywhere from zero milligrams of nicotine per millilitre to 20 mg/ml, the upper limit of Canadian regulations on vape products.
Variables like these are not available in tobacco form. Nicotine is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in the tobacco plant. The highly addictive stimulant is responsible for keeping so many users enslaved to the habit.
When inhaled, nicotine moves quickly through the lungs and into the bloodstream, ending up in the brain and other organs. This can cause short-term increases in blood pressure and heartrate.
In the immature body of a young person, nicotine is believed to interfere with healthy brain development and affect memory and concentration.
Cigarette smoke is also known to contain at least 60 other toxic substances, all of which are considered carcinogenic. Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death among Manitobans.
Unfortunately, only time will tell what the long-term effects of vaping will look like.
“Vaping aerosol contains some potentially harmful chemicals,” reads a guidance on the federal government’s website. “In addition to nicotine, vaping liquids typically contain glycerol and propylene glycol, and chemicals used for flavouring. While these ingredients are considered safe for use in cosmetics and foods, the long-term risks of inhaling these substances are unknown and continue to be researched.”1
Only in June 2023 did the Canadian government introduce regulations which require manufacturers to fully disclose information about all the ingredients used in vaping products.
The collection of this information like this will take time, but once compiled it will help create the policies that help push enforcement and inform public education initiatives.
In the meantime, we are facing a generation of young people willing to act as test subjects.
Denise Poettker is a Niverville resident and registered nurse working in primary care.
She is currently in a public health certification program, studying community health and clinical decision making. She has chosen to write her paper on the high incidence of vaping among youth in secondary schools.
“Vaping was initially marketed as a safer alternative to smoking, but data has shown that vaping is quite addictive, especially for youth,” Poettker says. “The use of nicotine in adolescence can affect parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. Youth vaping and cigarette use have been associated with mental health symptoms such as depression. Research has also shown that vaping can cause agitation, mood swings, anxiety, memory problems, and poor concentration in youth.”
Ask Kids What Their Friends Are Doing
One former Niverville student was already seeing the effects of vaping among her peers when she attended college in the Greater Toronto Area in 2019.
She has asked to remain anonymous. We’ll call her Sara.
At 24 years of age, Sara was already among the oldest in her college class in 2019. Out of her 18 fellow students, about a quarter were regular vapers, mostly taking up the younger quadrant between 17 to 20 years of age.
“I think they may have started vaping because it was trendy, but then it became a habit,” says Sara. “Many of them were also cannabis smokers and would rotate between cannabis and nicotine vapes. Surprisingly, none of them were interested in smoking tobacco.”
There were few consistencies in terms of brand loyalty for Sara’s peers. The primary focus, she says, seemed to revolve around the most affordable options. Most used disposable vapes, replaced every week or two with a new one. The juice flavours seemed to matter more.
“They would buy the nicotine juices with the highest available nicotine content possible,” Sara says. “They may have been experiencing a form of addiction. I think quitting would have been very difficult for them, especially because they could vape just about anywhere without disturbing anyone. The vapes were pulled out in the classroom, at home, in the library, [everywhere].”
Sara adds that she wasn’t immune to the vaping intrigue. Her classmates were always willing to share their products with non-vapers like her. The high nicotine content, though, left Sara feeling queasy after just a puff or two.
“I’m not sure why it didn’t become a habit for me,” Sara says. “I enjoyed vaping, but I was always a little concerned about the long-term health effects, so I would never let myself buy one. I also have family members that struggled with quitting the nicotine vape, so I didn’t want to risk a similar problem.”
Do Vape Marketers Target Youth?
In light of studies which indicate a rapid uptake in vaping by Canada’s youth, experts are looking to the vape manufacturers and their marketing strategies to determine what’s behind the appeal.
Today, compact and discreet vape versions are available that easily slip into a pocket, making them a subtle go-anywhere device. They come in a variety of colours and aesthetics.
Disposable vapes make vaping easy by eliminating the need for refilling cartridges or recharging the battery.
Improvements have also been made on nicotine delivery through the use of nicotine salts in the vape liquid which deliver higher concentrations of the drug to the brain, providing an effect similar to a strong pull on a cigarette without the harsh burn in the throat.
The vape liquid itself, though, is arguably the biggest reason for the continued appeal of vaping to young people.
With flavours like “unicorn milk” and “dragon’s blood,” and flavour profiles matching those of cotton candy, banana splits, and creamy strawberry milkshakes, it’s no wonder they’re popular.
Indeed, there are a prolific number of websites dedicated to critiquing the newest flavours and extolling the virtues of exotic options like “blue voodoo” or “mother’s milk” from companies like Suicide Bunny.
The federal government began sounding alarm bells on youth vaping rates in 2021 and proposed significant changes to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act. In 2022, they introduced an excise tax on vape substances to reduce the appeal by making them more cost prohibitive.
Recommendations were made on regulating the sale of desirable vape flavours that appear to target youth, but to date those recommendations were never implemented at a federal level, despite statistics that show Canada having some of the highest youth vaping rates in the world.
Some provinces have taken their own initiative, including Quebec. As of October 31, 2023, only tobacco-flavoured vape products are permitted for sale as well as those with no flavour or aroma.
Vapes designed to appeal to the younger market, such as those that take on the shape of a toy, jewellery, food item, or fictional character are also banned.
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, similar bans on flavoured products are also taking place in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
Locals Weigh In
Local resident Jesse Friesen picked up tobacco smoking while attending university in his early twenties. He smoked for five years, until vape shops began to pop up in convenient locations. He admits to having traded one vice for another when he picked up the vaping habit to kick tobacco.
He struggles with the idea of legislative overreach that may inhibit access to vape products for everyone and not just youth.
“On one hand, I think it’s important to have regulations to keep Canadians safe,” Friesen says. “These devices, at times, have been found to be unsafe or contain harmful substances, especially when acquired by companies from unscrupulous places. On the other hand, I don’t think that banning flavours is the job of the government or that it has the intended effect.”
Applying an excise tax, he feels, is more likely to achieve the intended goal of reducing vaping.
“Nicotine taxes seem to have stopped some of my friends from vaping, and it will probably be the reason I stop as well,” Friesen says. “It’s unpopular with smokers and people who vape but might be one of the more fair tools for discouraging people. Unhealthy habits, on average, cost more to our healthcare system, and forcing people to contribute to social security upfront could be an answer.”
Michael Jensen dabbled in recreational tobacco smoking as a teen but is a non-smoker today. He’s also the father to an infant daughter.
“I’m extremely concerned about the prevalence of vaping among youth,” Jensen says. “I remember a few years ago hearing teens talk about how it’s completely safe because there’s no tobacco in it. And that type of mythology is dangerous. Especially at that age where many teens tend to consider their friends’ opinions over facts.”
Jensen adds that he’s disappointed that all the hard work done by both levels of government to curb teen smoking over the years seems for naught.
“I understand that it’s a conjectural observation, but my experience was that the number of kids I saw smoking when I was in eighth grade was significantly greater than when I was in twelfth grade,” Jensen says. “The culture around smoking cigarettes went from being ‘cool’ when I was entering my teens to ‘stupid’ when I was finishing my teens. And I think significant government investment and education made a difference.”
As for his infant daughter, Jensen says there’s time before she is faced with these choices. But he already has a game plan: to develop the kind of relationship with her that invites open and honest dialogue.
Poettker’s sons are already at those vulnerable ages of 14 and 16.
“It is important to talk to your children about smoking and vaping and how to say no when offered,” she says. “Ask them what they think of tobacco use or vaping and reinforce that you are there to listen. It seems simple, but every conversation you have about smoking or vaping helps your child. It tells them you care and allows your child an opportunity to let you know of other things going on in their lives.”
