I cannot understand for the life of me why vaping been allowed and legitimised  into Canada by our federal, provincial and municipal  governments.

What were they thinking about? oh silly me,  more taxes of course; no matter what the costs.

I think vaping is incredibly stupid and dangerous on 2 fronts.

 !.  Why should I have to walk through the huge, obnoxious clouds that these things generate when I am out walking. What am I forced to breath in? 

2.  What chemicals are the users breathing in and passing on to me?

We have spent 20 years or more actively, and successfully, encouraging Canadians not to smoke.

I know logic is a silly thing to mention  when trying to understand why didn’t our government build on what we have learnt from discouraging smoking and simply add vaping the existing anti- smoking legislation.

Trish Summerhayes.
Publisher Island Woman Magazine

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Lately, my social-media news feeds have been filling up with stories about teens in hospital hooked up to tubes on the brink of death.

The cause of the respiratory failure or illness is vaping.

Most of these stories are from south of the border, and then on Wednesday came the first reported Canadian case linked to vaping.

 The Ontario teen was on life support, and health officials stated the teen was known to vape daily.

More teens are turning to vaping rather than smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol. It’s a mix of technology, vices and good old rebellion.

These stories are scary. Equally scary is that the vape “juices” come in flavours such as bubble gum, cotton candy and butterscotch.

Teen vaping in Canada and across the globe continues to rise, and with nicotine and cannabis infused into childfriendly flavours, this isn’t a surprise.

Vaping has also been touted as a “safer” alternative to smoking tobacco. Whether it’s true or not, this claim can sway people, especially teens, to think they are picking the healthier option.

But we are learning that vaping isn’t a safe option, although I think many people still believe it is.

Several years ago, I interviewed a vapestore owner when I noticed the big boom in the industry. I was told that the only people who purchased the products were smokers using them as cessation tools.

The store owner said vaping wasn’t something nonsmokers would be drawn to.

But today, teens are bypassing traditional cigarettes and starting with vaping.

It has been reported that so far seven people in the U.S. have died of the suspected vape-related illness.

I knew vaping was an issue, but recently I overheard some moms talking about their kids in middle school and I actually got nervous for my own kid.

“Does your kid vape yet?” one mother asked another. “No,” the mother answered. “You should check their room, all the kids are vaping now. Every kid I know,” a third mother chimed in.

I was shocked and scared to overhear this conversation, because I have a child who in a couple of short years will be in middle school.

I have never vaped in my life, and even when I was curious what a cotton-candyflavoured cloud might taste like, I refrained.

 I quit smoking cigarettes more than 10 years ago, and I know if I tried a vape it could be a slippery slope back to smoking.

I started smoking as a young teen. I knew it was unhealthy and dangerous, but it was cool. I smoked well into my 20s, and after several attempts, I was successful at quitting.

When I was young, people smoked cigarettes everywhere. Fast-food restaurants had little foil one-time-use ashtrays, ashtrays lined the hallways of shopping malls and smokers had free rein about lighting up anywhere outdoors.

There were designated smoking areas in my middle school and high school, as I’m sure there were in many of your schools, too.

I didn’t come from a family of smokers; no one in my family smoked. I smoked because my friends smoked and I wanted to fit in. Even though I knew the health dangers, I didn’t think it would affect me.

Teens smoking cigarettes isn’t a good choice, and teens vaping isn’t a good choice, either. Teen rebellion has been around since the beginning of time. I understand why the teens of today vape — it’s the same reason I was a young teen in the 1990s smoking cigarettes.

We also need to remember that these are addictive substances, and once a kid is addicted, the chances of convincing them to quit diminish.

The teen vaping epidemic is growing because teens think it’s safe, or safer than smoking, and the fruity flavours don’t help.

Honestly, who are these companies making cotton-candy flavouring for?

This article was written by Charla Huber
and published in the Times/Colonist.

See all articles by Trish Summerhayes