Editor's note: Dr. Patricia Daly is the chief medical health officer of Vancouver Coastal Health
This is in response to an article published June 29 about a proposed vape shop to open across from a school.
In response to your article I would like to correct statements attributed to Simon Fraser University professor Rob Gordon.
Professor Gordon is wrong when he says that there “…doesn’t appear to be a public health problem” with vaping because “…health authorities have been noticeably silent about the topic.” Vancouver Coastal Health Medical Health Officers have publicly expressed concerns about e-cigarettes and vaping. Of particular concern is the marketing to youth, using techniques that target young people like flavourings and appealing imagery. We have advocated for school districts and municipalities to add e-cigarettes to existing no-smoking policies and bylaws, and many have already done so.
It is also erroneous, or at least misleading, to state that vaping is not addictive.
If the vaping liquid contains an addictive substance, such as nicotine, the risks of addiction are no different from vaping than other routes of consumption. Although the sale of nicotine-containing vaping liquid is not permitted by Health Canada, it is widely available in vape shops in B.C. with no current enforcement by the federal government. Nicotine can be particularly harmful to the developing brain of adolescents.
Also concerning is the marketing of e-cigarettes as a “safe” alternative to smoking, which has led to use by adolescents who would not otherwise smoke.
Studies in the U.S. have found adolescents who use e-cigarettes are more likely to then start smoking than those who do not, an indication that vaping may be a gateway to other tobacco use. Almost all e-cigarette companies have been purchased by big tobacco companies, an indication that these companies recognize that vaping is a new way to create more nicotine addicts. And there is no evidence to date that e-cigarettes help people to stop cigarette smoking.
The deliberate marketing of these products to young people is concerning, considering that nicotine can be particularly harmful to the still developing brain of adolescents. We commend District of Squamish school board chair Rick Price and vice-chair Ian Kent for speaking out to protect the health of young people.
We stand with you in asking Squamish Council to consider all possible options to prevent the opening of a vape shop across from Howe Secondary School, to protect our youth and their health.
