School District 43 says vaping may not be as harmless as it looks and is cracking down on e-cigarettes just as Health Canada mounts a campaign to curb the use of vaping among young people.
Stores are prohibited from selling vaping products to youth but they are showing up on middle and high school grounds anyway, and SD43 is forced to confiscate them, and sometimes impose disciplinary measures, as well, according to assistant superintendent Rob Zambrano.
Recently, school superintendent Patricia Gartland sent out a letter to parents reminding them that vaping and cannabis are prohibited, and warning them about the risks of both as well as suggestions for talking to teens.
These measures were seen as a way to address parents’ need for information at a time when the landscape on cannabis was changing, Zambrano said, but the District Parent Advisory Council was also asking for information on vaping and weed, too.
“At schools vaping has taken us some time to work with students on. It’s not like cigarettes, with cigarettes, there’s smoke and there’s a stigma. Whereas vaping doesn’t have that same level of concern although the health risks are still unknown,” Zambrano said.
In information posted online, SD43 warns that vape juice, although flavored like candy, contains toxic metals including lead chromium and manganese, as well as highly-addictive nicotine.
Vaping products are not allowed on school grounds and will be confiscated and only returned to parents if they ask, although most don’t, Zambrano said. Students caught vaping across the street from a school could also have their vaporizers confiscated because they are illegal for youth under 18.
According to the SD43 information, vaporizers can cost between $50 and $300 (higher cost vaporizers are used for marijuana) and several of these devices, which look like USB drives, are confiscated each month.
E-juice is sold in the bottle at varying price ranges from $13 to $60. Nicotine content can vary in e-juice but can be as high as 25%.
Health Canada meanwhile is seeking to restrict advertising, inform the public through a warning on advertisement and limit the display of vaping products in certain retail locations over concerns about the health impacts on youth and is embarking on a consultation process.
Vaping can lead to cigarette smoking, Health Canada warns, while at the same time vaping has increased among young people.
A national survey found a 64% increase in vaping among high school students, compared to the year previous, a finding backed by other surveys, Health Canada information suggests.
“Health Canada is very concerned that the recent introduction of vaping products with high nicotine content and the reported marked increase in youth experimentation and uptake of vaping are threatening Canada's hard earned gains in tobacco control. Stricter regulatory measures are needed to protect youth and non-users of tobacco products from inducements to use vaping products,” it states in a preamble to regulatory measures under consideration.
