Vaping among adolescents: what it is and how we can help reduce prevalence rates in Canada

Vaping has become increasingly popular among teenagers in Canada. Approximately 23 per cent of adolescents from grades seven to 12 have tried vapour cigarettes (Government of Canada, 2020). It was also found that 1.5 million students in the USA smoked an e-cigarette in 2018 (FDA, 2019). “Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the aerosol, or vapour, which is produced by an e-cigarette … electronic cigarette particles contain toxic chemicals, which have been linked to cancer, as well as respiratory and heart disease” (Center on Addiction, 2018). As a public relations officer working for the Canadian Cancer Society, we are opposed to having teens access vaping products and use them. Our goal is to educate adolescents and parents about the harmful effects vaping has on people’s health and to discuss how we can reduce teenage vaping rates among youth in Canada.

The reasons surrounding vaping usage are varied. Some argue it is less harmful than inhaling a regular cigarette, while others claim it aids in quitting smoking regular tobacco cigarettes and is claimed to be a patch substitute (Vita Ariv, 2019). It is also important to note that electronic cigarette sales exceeded the $80 million mark on regular cigarette sales back in 2013. Sales hit $650 million per year in Europe and $1.7 billion in the USA (New York Presbyterian Cancer Care, 2014). It is apparent that companies are making big money in sales and will therefore continue their distribution for public use because vaping has become a fad for youth worldwide. What they do not put at the forefront is the harmful effects these products could have on teenagers who smoke them. Studies show that vaping can have effects on memory and concentration, can cause cognitive-behavioural problems, and can increase exposure to chemicals causing harmful health issues such as popcorn lung (Government of Canada, 2020). Popcorn lung, also known as bronchiolitis obliterans, damages the lung’s small airways, causes coughing, and shortness of breath. A chemical called diacetyl in flavoured popcorn causes it. Factory workers who packaged microwave popcorn acquired the illness after inhaling this chemical. This same ingredient is found in electronic vaping cigarettes (WebMD, 2020).

Vaping can impair learning, memory, concentration, attention, (FDA, 2019) and cause cognitive-behavioural problems (Government of Canada, 2020). This could potentially affect teenage students. They are unable to retain information to ace tests or write effectively and efficiently for class projects and papers. They may engage in delinquent or violent behaviour due to chemicals being altered in the brain from nicotine inhalation. Nicotine, an ingredient in some vapour cigarettes, can cause damage to a youth’s brain development and can cause addiction if used regularly (Government of Canada, 2020).

Vaping is linked to irreversible lung damage. The University of North Carolina conducted a recent study and found that the two key ingredients found in e-cigarettes – propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin – also cause lung damage (American Lung Association, 2020). People who smoke these products will have difficulty breathing and may therefore have great difficulty participating in physical activity such as running, soccer, or even yoga where breathing exercise are required. Life will not be the same. It is important that youth are educated about the dangerous harmful effects vaping can have on their future (Government of Canada, 2019).

Canadian youth have the highest rates for trying vaping (Government of Canada, 2019). Parents therefore need to know how to talk with their child about the dangers of vaping products. In the early twenty first century, our parents never educated us about the dangers of smoking e-cigarettes. Twenty years ago, there were no active campaigns linking vaping to lung cancer like there are now. Smoking e-cigarettes was not a trend in our generation. Cigarette and electronic cigarette packages now contain warning signs of detrimental health effects. It is vital that parents converse with their children about how dangerous vaping can be and explain why it should not be done. When preparing to talk to your child, listen and wait for the right opportunity, such as seeing an e-cigarette commercial or video, seeing a vaping device in an advertisement, or simply just by passing a shop that sells them (Office on Smoking and Health Info Sheet). Those are opportunities to educate your child about what smoking an e-cigarette can do to their health if used long-term, how it can lead to nicotine addiction, and how vaping products can catch fire because of the battery (Government of Canada, 2019). Instill in your conversation that you care about your child’s health and safety, and do not go about it in a harsh tone, otherwise, your teen can interpret the conversation as a lecture and will therefore be disengaged in the conversation.

In conclusion, we covered the dangers of teen vaping on the brain and how it causes cognitive-behavioural problems, how it affects the lungs, and how parents should talk to their adolescent children about the potential harmful effects of vaping products. Vaping rates among teenagers in Canada have increased since 2017-2018 (BMJ, 2019).

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