Parents and other caring adults play an important role in helping kids make decisions about their health. In fact, teens say their parents are the biggest influence in their lives.

“Talking to kids early and often is one of the best ways to support young people to make informed decisions and ideally prevent them from becoming addicted to nicotine through vaping,” says Dr. Lisa Simon, associate medical officer of health with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. “Vaping is not harmless. Most vaping products contain nicotine, which is the addictive component in cigarettes. Once addicted, youth who vape are three to four times more likely to start smoking cigarettes.”  

To support conversations with kids, the Not An Experiment website now features a Parent Education video available in both English(Hey, Parents Let’s Talk About Vaping) and French (Parents, parlons du vapotage). Both 12-minute, engaging videos are packed with information about what a vape is, the health effects of vaping, the industry’s influence on vaping promotion and youth vaping rates, as well as essential insights into how to talk to kids, access help to quit and where to get more information.  

By watching the video, parents and caring adults can be better prepared to start a conversation among themselves and talk with kids about vaping. Kids listen more than you think. For more information or to ask questions, visit NotAnExperiment@smdhu.org.

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According to the Ontario Student Drug and Health Survey, the number of students in Grades seven to 12 who reported using vaping products in the past year doubled from 11 per cent in 2017 to 23 per cent in 2019, with 13 per cent —representing approximately 105,600 students—vaping weekly or daily. In Simcoe Muskoka about one third of students in this age group reported vaping in the past year, a rate significantly higher than the provincial rate. It is also notable that rates of vaping increase as youth enter high school.

An e-cigarette (or vape) is an electronic device that heats up a liquid known as e-liquid. The devices can be hard to spot, frequently looking like a USB stick, pen or highlighter, and does not always make a big “cloud” of vapour when used. Contrary to misbelief, e-liquid is not harmless water vapour as it contains nicotine as one of the main ingredients and some vaping liquids also contain cannabis. Nicotine is the same addictive drug found in tobacco cigarettes. However, a single e-cigarette can contain as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes or more, making them highly addictive. Another concern is that when heated, some of the other chemicals in e-liquid create the same cancer-causing by-product made by smoking cigarettes.

While initially marketed as a way to help people to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes in the mid-2000s, they quickly gained popularity among people who don’t smoke, including youth. Most vaping products contain nicotine and once addicted, youth who vape are three to four times more likely to start smoking cigarettes, threatening to reverse decades of work to reduce smoking rates and the number of Canadians suffering and dying from illnesses related to the use of tobacco industry products.

Nicotine also makes vaping products highly addictive, and the consequences can be more serious for kids and teens, because their developing brains become addicted to nicotine faster and with less exposure than adults. Nicotine changes brain development and negatively affects memory, concentration and behaviour, and contrary to misconception, vaping does not relieve stress among youth, and can actually increase anxiety and depression.

Healthy public policies like the Smoke-Free Ontario Act have greatly contributed to the progress we have made in reducing the use of commercial tobacco products. Along with laws and legislation, individually we can help prevent our communities’ young people from becoming addicted to these deadly products.

Parents and other caring adults play an important role in helping kids make decisions about their health. In fact, teens say their parents are the biggest influence in their lives.  Talking early and often is one of the best ways to support young people in making informed decisions, and ideally prevent them from becoming addicted to nicotine through vaping. If a young person has already begun vaping, listen to their perspective and have honest discussions about the risks and share information about quit supports. Information, tips and resources to support you are available on NotAnExperiment.ca, which includes pages for youth, parents and educators as well as links to quit supports.

Dr. Charles Gardner is the Medical Officer of Health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. To learn more about the risks of vaping and other public health topics, visit smdhu.org.

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“There is a lack of understanding out there about vapour products, especially when it comes to the positive role they can play in tobacco harm reduction,” said Ralf Wittenberg, President and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada. “I think this misunderstanding is due to the fact that the vast majority of people don’t have access to accurate, credible and independent information.”

The campaign highlights the latest in vapour product science. It gives readers access to information on what other countries are doing to promote and embed tobacco harm reduction as a public health strategy, with the goal of allowing people to take a more informed view when considering their stance on vaping products and other less risky alternatives to smoking*.

“We have a role to play in providing Canadians with information on our products and our industry. A significant portion of Canadians think vaping is as harmful, if not more so, than smoking,” continued Mr. Wittenberg. “This campaign is to educate Canadians on the facts about vapour products by providing access to credible, factual, and independent information.”

Imperial Tobacco Canada believes harm-reduction is critical when discussing smoking. Despite the considerable confusion when it comes to vaping products, how they work and their effect on health, the science is clear and growing:

• Public Health England has said that vapour products are 95 percent less harmful than cigarettes.
• Cancer Research UK found that there are lower cancer rates in those who switch from cigarettes to vaping products.
• The World Health Organization acknowledges that vaping increases the likelihood of quitting smoking.
• Health Canada says that vaping is less harmful than smoking.

“Our goal is to reduce the health impact of our business. Health Canada wants to reduce smoking rates to less than five percent by 2035. Although this won’t happen overnight, if successful, this campaign will help to achieve both objectives,” concluded Mr. Wittenberg

www.clearthesmoke.ca

SOURCE Imperial Tobacco Canada

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