Youth Vaping: Current Trends, Regulations and Accessibility

Healthcare professionals and public health officials are awaiting the results of a public consultation on Reducing Youth Access and Appeal of Vaping Products: Potential Regulatory Measures. The consultation will inform the creation of regulatory measures based on comments and insights collected from the general public, tobacco control experts, healthcare providers, academics, and others. The measures include:

• Safety requirements for product development
• Ingredient disclosure
• Disclosure of nicotine levels
• Warnings on risk of use indicated on packaging and labels

Current Regulations

The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) mirrors the long-standing Tobacco Act and aims to:

• Protect young persons and non-tobacco users from inducements to use vaping products.
• Protect the health of young persons and non-users of tobacco products from exposure to and dependence on nicotine that could result from the use of vaping products.
• Protect the health of young persons by restricting access to vaping products.
• Prevent the public from being deceived or misled with respect to the health hazards of using vaping products.
• Enhance public awareness of the health hazards of using vaping products.

In Canada, it is illegal for manufacturers to:

• Make a health claim regarding an e-cigarette product’s ability to aid in smoking cessation.
• Suggest that it is a safer alternative to smoking traditional combustible tobacco.
• Promote vaping products in ways that are appealing to youth, be emphasising flavours like confectionary or candy.
• Use lifestyle marketing to promote and sell vaping products.

However, even with restrictions in place, social media images depicting e-cigarette smokers in a positive, happy, or glamourous way are prevalent and could undermine changes in social norms related to tobacco use and progress in tobacco control.

Currently, there are no location restrictions on where vaping product advertisements can be placed.

Vaping Trends Among Youth

Until new regulations are in place, vaping among youth continues to rise. In fact, data suggests that the youth smoking rate in Canada has increased for the first time in 30-years and vaping devices are the suspected cause. This increase is poised to undo decades of effort to protect young people from tobacco addiction.

New research published in JAMA Network Open suggests that vaping can increase the chance that a “low-risk” young person will try traditional cigarettes. Sales of e-cigarettes are growing rapidly in Canada and across the globe, spiking an increase in the number of tobacco manufacturers purchasing e-cigarette companies or developing their own brands.

Vaping and Smoking Cessation

Vaporisers usefulness as a smoking cessation tool is not clear = unclear. They are not part of most smoking cessation programs and many healthcare professionals don’t recommend vapes because of their harmful juice. What’s more, vaporizers and e-cigarettes are naively perceived as harmless and novel among youth, placing young people, who are using e-cigarettes, at risk of actually starting to smoke cigarettes.

Data have also shown that many smokers who take up vaping continue to smoke cigarettes instead of quitting smoking altogether. They become part of the group known as “dual users”.

According to the University of Waterloo’s, Public Health Professor, David Hammond: “To date, no vaping company has applied to Health Canada for approval to market e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation product, like nicotine gum or patches.”

Re-normalising Tobacco

As vaping devices continue to be accessible and normalised among young people, the risk of nicotine addiction rises. Teens who become nicotine addicted but cannot access a vape are more enticed to smoke a cigarette as way to satisfy their nicotine craving. According to the CBC, e-cigarettes also have the potential to increase tobacco smoking by expanding the nicotine market among younger people and renormalizing smoking.

Until May of 2018, it was illegal to sell a vape product containing nicotine. Today, both nicotine-containing and nicotine-free e-cigarettes are legal in Canada. According to statistics, 23% of students in Canada have tried an e-cigarette and many teens view e-cigarettes as “cool” or “fun”.

Are parents and young patients in your practice asking about vaping and oral health? Tell us more.

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Until next time!

CDA Oasis Team