Growing number of health professionals speak out against proposed ban on vaping flavors in Canada



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Beamsville, ON, Oct 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – As Canada pursues a prohibitionist regulatory path for nicotine vaping products, many academics, health authorities and tobacco control experts have spoken out warning the government that overly restrictive vaping regulations will harm the public health. Earlier this week, the Montreal Heart Institute added its voice with the release of an article entitled “Ban the flavors of vaping liquids?” A very bad idea.

The article argues that the basis for Canada’s proposal to ban flavors is flawed and that there is no epidemic among young people. Throughout the article, several studies are evaluated which reveal that only 1% of young people who vape were not former smokers. He also explores data from San Francisco which shows a significant increase in smoking among young people following the ban on vaping flavors.

In other words, the ‘vaping epidemic’ among young people, so decried by anti-smoking organizations, has not led to an increase, but rather a marked decrease in smoking among young people, which would obviously be impossible if the vaping drove young people to smoke, ”said Dr. Martin Juneau, cardiologist and director of prevention at the Montreal Heart Institute.

Dr Juneau also notes his concern that it seems adult smokers are lost in the conversation that is so obsessed with youth vaping and points to the products’ superior effectiveness over other smoking cessation aids. tobacco. “There is nothing abstract or theoretical about the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes in promoting smoking cessation: surveys show that at least 4.3 million Americans, 2.4 million Britons and 7.5 million Europeans have quit smoking thanks to these devices, while drastically reducing their risk of dying prematurely. There is therefore no doubt that electronic cigarettes have strongly contributed to the significant drop in smoking among adults worldwide, which has fallen from 23.5% in 2007 to 19% today, ”said Dr Juneau.

“For all these reasons, it seems to us that banning vaping flavors is a terrible idea. The effectiveness of this measure in stopping vaping among young people is questionable (flavors are only one of the factors leading to vaping) and it is certain that it will have negative impacts on adult smokers by eliminating an alternative to tobacco. . It should also be mentioned that a decrease in the number of adults who quit smoking has a negative impact on young people, not only because parental smoking is the main risk factor associated with smoking initiation in children and adults. adolescents, but also due to psychological disorders. trauma caused by tobacco-related illnesses and / or death of adults around them … I can no longer count the number of my patients who had tried everything, without success, to overcome their addiction to tobacco, until the day they had tried the electronic cigarette and finally succeeded. A success which was in many cases a real question of life and death, because there is no doubt that many of them would have died today if they had not succeeded in quitting smoking ”, concludes the article.

As Health Canada reviews comments received during the consultation period, the Canadian Vaping Association echoes the sentiment of the Montreal Heart Institute – the health of adult smokers must be a primary consideration for regulators .

CONTACT: Darryl Tempest The Canadian Vaping Association 6472741867 [email protected]
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