Youth Vaping: A Concern For Athletes And Teens

Have you noticed the increased popularity of vaping devices being sold and used across Chatham-Kent? Especially among younger audiences who are not permitted to buy them in stores unless they are 19 years of age?

When looking at some details about what vaping is looking like in Ontario a recent University of Waterloo study shared the following conclusions:

• Vaping has increased in Canada 74% from 2017-2018 among 16-19 year olds
• Smoking has increased in Canada 45% from 2017-2018 among youth audiences.
• The study also explained that there is an association between vaping and tobacco use but at this time the evidence is unable to say that causation is “unclear” due to each sharing similar risk factors.

If you want to read more about this study, it can be found here: https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/365/bmj.l2219.full.pdf

In terms of messaging about the health concerns of vaping Health Canada has released these three key messages:

• Vaping can cause lung damage
• Vaping nicotine can alter teen brain development
• Long-term health impact of vaping are unknown