Health and education stakeholders are concerned about the addiction of children in Quebec to nicotine, because the latest data show that the rate of vaping among those under 24 is 3.6 times higher than among 25-year-olds and more.
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According to Statistics Canada figures, in 2021, the vaping rate among young Quebecers aged 12 to 24 was 13.4%. By comparison, 3.7% of adults aged 25 and over were vapers.
Faced with this situation, which it considers worrying, the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control (CQCT) published, this morning, the analysis of a consulting firm that looked at data from the Health Survey in Canadian communities, vaping data never before released by the federal government.
“We are not surprised by the alarming figures because other surveys have already shown that a large proportion of young people use the vaporizer in the first five minutes of the day and use it 20 to 30 times a day, but the new figures confirm that it is urgent to act”, declares to the Journal Flory Doucas, spokesperson for the CQCT.
In the general population, the rate of vaping increased from 3.8 to 5.3% between 2017 and 2021. Another increase considered worrying, according to the Coalition.
New followers
Mme Doucas adds that, since the federal legalization of vaping products with nicotine in May 2018, the proportion of non-smokers in Quebec who use these products has more than doubled.
Between 2017 and 2021, the number of non-smokers who vape increased by 61,500. Of this lot, young people under the age of 25 represent 86% of new vapers who did not smoke cigarettes before.
“For every increase in four vapers who are former smokers, there is an increase in five vapers who were not smokers,” says Ms.me Doucas.
According to her, these figures come to defeat the arguments of the vaping industry, which promotes the benefits of electronic cigarettes to get rid of the bad habit of smoking conventional cigarettes.
If the beneficial effects are proven, the Coalition would not be against the idea that flavored vaping products approved by Health Canada could be prescribed by a doctor, like other drugs that can be delivered by medical prescription.
“We are not in this context with the products that are purchased at the convenience store. It is not in the interest of traders that young people, that people stop using vaping products, ”explains the spokesperson for the CQCT.
Sacrificing the health of young people
In the document published today by the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control, a few stakeholders have joined forces to highlight the repercussions of vaping, particularly among young people.
“It’s time for governments to stop sacrificing the health of our young people on behalf of a for-profit industry,” commented Dominique Massie, executive director of the Quebec Lung Association.
For his part, Dr. Nicholas Chadi, pediatrician and clinician-researcher specializing in drug addiction and adolescent medicine, repeats that nicotine is very harmful to the health of young people and hopes that those in authority will act.
“Flavor is one of the main reasons young people vape. Banning them would be a particularly effective measure to reduce the appeal of vaping products among children and adolescents,” he says.
IN QUEBEC
- Between 2017 and 2021, the number of non-smokers who vape more than doubled, from 55,207 to 116,700 users.
- In 2021, the vaping rate among 12-18 year olds was 13.9% and 13.4% among 12-24 year olds.
- Among Quebecers aged 12 and over, the vaping rate increased from 3.8 to 5.3% between 2017 and 2021.
- While the number of former smokers who vape has increased by 48,725 since 2017, the number of non-smokers who vape has increased by 61,493.
- 86% of the 116,700 non-smokers who vape are youth or young adults (ages 12-24, 2021).
- The proportion of vapers who have never smoked having vaped in the past 30 days has increased from 20% in 2017 to 30% in 2021.
- Among young people and young adults (12-24 years old) who vape, the vast majority (91%) do not derive any benefit in terms of quitting smoking.