London researchers are sounding the alarm over the number of Canadian high school students choosing to vape.
In a study by Western University and its affiliate Brescia University College, scientists found 26 per cent of high schoolers across the country reported having vaped in the previous month. Additionally, 12 per cent of the teen respondents admitted to exclusively using vapes and e-cigarettes that contain nicotine, while 11.3 per cent indicated using both nicotine and nicotine-free vapes.
“Vapes were initially marketed as a potential solution to tobacco smoking with claims that they could be a less harmful alternative," said Jamie Seabrook, chair of Brescia's school of food and nutritional sciences. "While we are still trying to fully grasp the long-term effects of vaping on physical and mental health, our study shows vapes are exposing youth to nicotine and putting them at risk of nicotine addiction."
Teens who vaped nicotine-free products tend to have a worse understanding of the risks of e-cigarette chemicals, which can lead to uninformed use, added Seabrook.
Researchers analyzed data collected through the 2019 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey. Nearly 38,300 students in Grade 9 to 12 took part in the survey. According to the study findings, Grade 10 and 11 students were more likely than Grade 9 students to vape exclusively with nicotine, while Grade 9 students were more likely than Grade 11 and 12 students to vape with both nicotine and nicotine-free vapes.
The higher likelihood of dual-use vaping among grade 9 students warrants further investigation, said Seabrook.
“Since this was a cross-sectional analysis and we studied all the different age groups at the same time, we could not establish that dual vaping is leading to an increase in exclusive nicotine vaping. Our findings do show that there is a possibility, but it needs careful investigation,” said Seabrook.
The study was published in the medical journal Children.
