Kevin Berger – Leader Staff
Up until last week, vaping was one of those things I had never really given much thought to.
Back when e-cigarettes appeared on the market in the early 2000s, they were a niche product enjoyed by the kind of people you might sneeringly refer to as “hipsters.” The joke was that people who vape had to constantly advertise that fact and were kind of unbearable.
Since then, the hobby has taken off. Part of that’s because it’s advertised as a way to quit smoking; in fact,when I was working at the Westlock News, there was a lady there who tried to use e-cigarettes to cut down on her habit. (I don’t recall if it worked.)
But part of it was that the risks of vaping weren’t really known yet. Sure, everyone knows that smoking tobacco causes cancer and marijuana harms undeveloped brains, but what does vaping do? It doesn’t help matters that the e-juices have fun, non-threatening flavours like strawberry and banana or mint.
And so parents that would forbid their children to drink or smoke pot might not blink twice at their kids inhaling from a Juul pod.
Anyways, what got me really thinking about vaping was a presentation by addictions counselor Jack Adkins at Neerlandia Public Christian School. If you like, you can read a bit more about it by turning to Page 5 and 6 of this week’s Town & Country.
As Jack pointed out to the kids, there is now mounting evidence that vaping isn’t quite as healthy as advertised. In the U.S., a total of 13 people have died, and hundreds more are confirmed to have vaping-related illnesses.
And after checking the news on Friday afternoon, I see that there is now a confirmed case of vaping-related lung disease reported in Quebec. This was an older man who, ironically, had been using e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking.
Just two weeks ago, a group of health organizations including the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Lung Association called on the federal government to impose the same restrictions on vaping products as those on tobacco.
Adkins also pointed out how “Big Tobacco” has invested in the vaping industry to make up for the customers lost to cigarettes. And they are pushing this stuff aggressively.
I never noticed how aggressive it was, however, until I stopped at a gas station after attending Adkins’ talk. It was really eye-opening to count all the advertisements for Vype and other similar products; they were even attached to the hoses on the gas pumps.
The wool has been pulled over our eyes. Vaping might not be as harmful as cigarettes, but it clearly isn’t the fun, harmless activity that’s been advertised.