Two and a half years ago, I was travelling on a bus through some forested countryside in Somerset England. I was heading towards the seaside on a sunny morning. But this journey through this beautiful area in the Green and Pleasant Land had been somewhat ruined by a group of teenagers sitting at the rear of the coach. Three girls aged 15-18 had been passing a vape back and forth and sharing puffs as the bus careened along the narrow and meandering road. Strangely, the bus driver never reacted or said anything to the girls as the apple-scented fumes steaming out of their vape had filled the entire bus with sweetly-scented but nauseating vapours.
I’m not necessarily a fan of government overregulation, but as I stepped off the bus in the coastal town of Minehead, I thought had some thoughts about these vapers. “The bus driver should’ve told them off,” I believed, thinking the teens were much too young to be smoking e-juices, especially in an enclosed area like a public coach. But in the United Kingdom, there are few legal restrictions for vaping at the moment.
The practice of vaping continues to become widespread throughout England, Canada and many other countries. Although the effects of vaping haven’t been thoroughly examined, the levels of nicotine in e-juices can be as high as 36 mg per ml depending on the brand, meaning some e-juices on the market have powerful and addictive kicks. The chemicals in the flavoured vape liquids are also said to produce dangerous reactions, but the research is still murky. Scientific studies on e-juices have so far been limited. However, a recently published study confirmed there were unexpected chemical combinations in vape liquids. Certain substances in e-juices are said to be capable of activating cellular irritant receptors in the body.
"Once the components are mixed, there are chemical reactions happening that form new compounds with completely unknown toxicity," said Sven Jordt, a biochemist at Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina in a CBC report in October 2018.
Saskatchewan and Alberta are the only provinces which haven’t regulated vaping as of yet. The Canadian Cancer Society wants these prairie provinces to increase the age of purchasing vaping and tobacco products to 21. The society would also like Saskatchewan and Alberta to get rid of displays endorsing vaping and e-cigarettes in stores.
The Saskatchewan government’s move to regulate flavoured vapes as promised in the Throne Speech delivered by Lieutenant Governor Mirasty on October 23 is a worthy effort conceived to protect the province’s youth from these potentially dangerous substances. Vapes are attractively dressed in appealing flavours from buttered popcorn to strawberry and banana. The nation's youth are enticed to start vaping at increasing rates, as seen in a current study released by the British Medical Journal, showing a 74 per cent increase in vaping among youth in Canada from 2017-2018.
The Canadian Vaping Association encouraged the Saskatchewan government’s move to safeguard the nation’s youth. "The Canadian Vaping Association appreciates the need for increased regulation within the vaping industry. We are pleased to see Saskatchewan and Premier Scott Moe taking this step to control the sale and promotion of vaping products in the region," said Darryl Tempest, Executive Director of the Canadian Vaping Association, in a released statement.
Adults should have the right to vape. Although research into the effects of vaping is still ongoing, a complete ban on vaping in Canada would have undesirable consequences. A “Just say no” style of campaign would force vaping underground and into unregulated territory. So, the best approach to vaping at this time would involve posing age and advertising restrictions in the province, just as the Saskatchewan government had advised in their Throne Speech.
