One in three young people in Alberta vape, health ministry says

One in three young people in Alberta are now vaping, and while there are likely many reasons why it’s happening, teens CityNews spoke to outside a Calgary high school say they believe it’s peer pressure.

“I think it’s really part of like the high school culture of trying to fit in,” one teenager said. “So they might not necessarily want to do it, but it’s just trying to find themselves where they don’t really know who they are can kind of lead them down like a dangerous path.”

Another teen said young vapers may not realize the long-term consequences of the habit, but that’s for them to decide.

“It’s I think it’s their decision to do those things as long as they’re not really harming anybody, and we’re all going to die someday — so you might as well enjoy it and have some social cohesion,” they said.

“It’s a lot more socially acceptable to smoke vapes as opposed to like cigarettes because they are outdated and vapes again, for the cool factor,” another added.

Back in 2018, Health Canada endorsed vaping devices as a tool to quit smoking, but some experts fear it didn’t work as planned.

A UCalgary professor who specializes in respiratory illnesses says the percentage of young Albertans vaping now is rapidly increasing, mainly due to its easy access and it becoming a style statement.

Dr. Ian Mitchell, clinical professor and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at UCalgary, says Albertans are getting hooked to vaping at a much younger age than tobacco smoking and it just shows government policies are not working.

“We know from tobacco, that if you can delay people until 20 or 21, they are very unlikely to start smoking,” he explained. “What the companies are trying to do is get people of 14, 15, 16 to take the product, then they’re addicted, and they have a customer for life or business a customer for life.”

The latest stats by the health ministry reveal vaping rates have doubled amongst youth in the last seven years, from 19 per cent in 2013 to 35 per cent in 2020. 

The president of the Alberta Dental Association says it’s the fancy flavours that lure youngsters towards vaping, which will destroy their dental health in the long run.

“The only reason you have bubblegum flavored products is to go to children,” said Dr. Bruce Yaholnitsky, president of the Alberta Dental Association. “But those sweetening factors are showing an increase in tooth decay. The other part that’s a concern is the long-term effects of the temperature and the by-products of vaping in the soft tissue in the mouth.”

Under the government’s new strategy, Alberta’s health minister says they are working with retailers to limit online sales of vaping products to youth and also plan to initiate a public education campaign.