New data shows Canada is among the countries with the highest youth vaping rates in the world
Today, May 18, news from CBC reports that new nationwide data from Canada shows that the number of Canadian youth who regularly use e-cigarettes ranks among the highest in the world. Experts indicate that the federal government’s lack of action and the widespread availability of flavored e-cigarettes are exacerbating an increasingly serious crisis. <\/p>
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The latest results from the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey conducted by Health Canada show that between September 2021 and June 2022, the survey covered 61,096 youth in grades 7 to 12 across 9 provinces, revealing that 29% of Canadian students have tried e-cigarettes. <\/p>
This figure is slightly down from 34% in the 2018-19 school year, but is higher among older students—41% of students in grades 10 to 12 have tried e-cigarettes.
Regular e-cigarette use is also common in Canada, with 17% of students having used e-cigarettes in the past month, slightly down from 20% in the 2018-19 school year, but again rising among students in grades 10 to 12, with over 24% being monthly users. <\/p>
Among all surveyed students, the daily e-cigarette use rate is 8%, and this rate is close to 12% among students in grades 10 to 12—experts say this is one of the highest rates in the world. <\/p>
David Hammond, a public health professor at the University of Waterloo and a researcher on youth e-cigarette use in Canada, stated: The data confirms that Canada is one of the countries with the highest youth vaping rates in the world, especially concerning daily e-cigarette use.
"We have basically stabilized at historically high levels of daily e-cigarette use... This may be the best indicator that we are in a state of long-term regular e-cigarette use—we have crossed the threshold of becoming a trend."
The high rate of youth e-cigarette use in Canada is unacceptable.<\/strong><\/p> This figure is higher than five years ago when only 10% of students reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, and 11% reported daily use in 2016-2017—indicating that the problem is worsening with no signs of slowing down. <\/p> The new youth e-cigarette survey data also partially coincides with the widespread availability of disposable e-cigarettes that can be pre-filled with thousands of puffs, do not require refilling or cartridges, and are associated with the surge in youth e-cigarette use. Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society, stated: We are very concerned about the persistently high youth e-cigarette use rate—a long-term issue that is unacceptably high. "We need the federal government to take immediate action to ban flavored e-cigarettes, which is one of the factors contributing to these high rates." When asked about their preferred flavors, the survey showed that among students in grades 7 to 12 who used e-cigarettes in the past month, 63% most commonly used fruit flavors. "There is no doubt that flavors are a significant component of youth e-cigarette use—they are appealing to kids and are one of the reasons they start trying e-cigarettes, with fruit and candy flavors being particularly important," Hammond said. <\/p> "The main reason adults use e-cigarettes is to help them quit smoking or to avoid dying from smoking—flavors have a relatively greater impact on youth e-cigarette use than on adults." In contrast, the youth smoking rate in Canada continues to decline significantly—only 14% of Canadian high school students report having ever smoked, down from 19% in the 2018-19 school year, and only 1% smoke daily. <\/p> "Over time, we have seen a decrease in youth smoking. This is due to high taxes, high prices, plain packaging, and menthol bans," Cunningham said. <\/p> "But unfortunately, when you include both smoking and e-cigarette use, the overall nicotine consumption is rising... We have a huge problem, with a new generation becoming addicted to nicotine, and we need the government to take immediate action to respond to this." Health Canada is standing by while youth use e-cigarettes.<\/strong><\/p> The federal government sounded the alarm in June 2021 regarding the rapid increase in e-cigarette use among Canadian youth and proposed amendments to the Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products<\/strong> Act to regulate the sale of ideal flavors, which has led to the increasing number of youth using e-cigarettes. However, two years later, as experts point out, Canada remains one of the countries with the highest youth e-cigarette use rates in the world, and there has been almost no action taken at the national level to regulate flavors. A spokesperson stated in an email statement to CBC News that Health Canada is aware of and very concerned about the high rates of e-cigarette use among Canadian youth. He added that they are still reviewing feedback from the public consultation on flavored e-cigarettes that ended in September 2021. E-cigarettes have always been promoted as an effective smoking cessation tool, but e-cigarettes have never been approved in Canada as a smoking cessation aid. The federal government proposed to limit e-cigarette flavors—such as cereal milk, cotton candy<\/strong>, unicorn<\/strong> milk, and dragon's blood—which is expected to help reduce the appeal of e-cigarette products to youth while still allowing adults to try some flavors to quit smoking. However, experts and health advocates say that Health Canada seems to have shelved this proposal and is no longer taking further action to regulate flavors that appeal to youth, leaving it to the industry and provinces to take action. In the absence of national regulations, several regions and provinces have already taken action. The Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec now prohibit the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes to curb youth vaping. Health Canada has indeed established new regulations on the allowable nicotine content in e-cigarettes, setting the maximum concentration of nicotine at 20 mg per milliliter since July 2021. However, it has not implemented any regulations on flavors. "We have not seen that the e-cigarette use rates in these provinces are significantly lower because flavor restrictions have no impact on their use," said Cynthia Callard, executive director of the Canadian Smokeless Tobacco Organization. "Only federal action will make provincial restrictions effective... It is deeply concerning that, in the face of such a serious ongoing issue, Health Canada is effectively standing by."
