Two-thirds of Canadian teens aged 12 to 17 have used E-cigarettes(HNB products/Vape) or E-cigarettes before smoking, according to new data released by Statistics Canada.

In contrast, one-third of 18- to 24-year-olds reported E-cigarettes prior to smoking.

“This is our biggest concern at Heart and Stroke has always been about E-cigarettes(heat not burn herbal sticksl), which we were very worried about years ago, that it would be a gateway to cigarette use by young people. In fact, that’s what we’re seeing.” Heart and Stroke Fund said Manuel Arango, director of policy and advocacy at the club.

“Now, you get dual use, you get a double whammy of very harmful e-cigarettes. Then there is very harmful smoking, which is triggered by E-cigarettes.”

The StatsCan study points out that E-cigarettes(Heated Tabak) may be less harmful than inhaling tobacco smoke. The Johns Hopkins Hospital also repeated the statement in a blog post on whether E-cigarettes could help smokers quit.

But Arango stressed that E-cigarettes is harmful, especially for young people.

A 2021 study by a Swedish team led by Gustaf Lyytinen, a clinician at Helsingborg Hospital and researcher at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, found that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes may cause heart attacks, strokes, increased blood pressure Risk of coagulation and injury to small arteries.

Although the study was small, it suggests that nicotine-containing E-cigarettes have similar health effects to the body as conventional cigarettes.

In the past, some studies have shown that E-cigarettes(heated herbal sticks supplier) can help smokers quit smoking. But many others have the exact opposite view.

“The jury is still out on whether these products are useful for quitting smoking. It just doesn’t exist. Instead, what’s happening is you get all these young people addicted to nicotine and end up smoking. So it’s kind of like a public health disaster.” Arango Say.

A 2021 Heart and Stroke Foundation study found that between 2017 and 2018, Canadians between the ages of 16 and 19 saw a 74% increase in E-cigarette use.

The 2022 federal budget includes a tax on E-cigarettes products, effective October 1, 2022. The first 10ml of vaping liquid is taxed at $1 per 2ml of E-cigarettes products. In addition, after that, the tax will increase by $1 per 10ml of E-cigarettes liquid.

The E-cigarettes tax is a preventive federal regulation that Arango said could reduce consumption of E-cigarettes products by young people.

Some provinces have implemented provincial taxes, but unification is important, he said.

“We need all provinces in Canada to match what the federal government is doing and then continue to increase taxes because taxes do help reduce smoking and they can play a role in helping to reduce E-cigarettes use among young people, especially since these are price sensitive ,” said Arango.

Another essential measure, he said, is to limit flavours.

Nine in 10 young people said that flavour played an important role in why they started E-cigarettes and why they continued to use E-cigarettes. Flavors popular with young people include berry, candy, mango and mint/menthol.

In 2021, the federal government proposes to ban the use of E-cigarettes flavors to prevent the use of E-cigarettes products from causing youth and non-tobacco product users to use tobacco products, the timeline of the Tobacco and E-cigarettes Products Act reads.

But Arango points out that Health Canada does not include mint/menthol in the flavor ban.

“We know that peppermint/menthol is the second most appealing flavor. We urge them to add peppermint/menthol because that’s something young people also like.”

Health Canada is also looking to implement regulatory measures that would require manufacturers to report product sales and ingredients to the department.

Disclosure is good for research, but not necessarily for the average person, Arango said.

“Disclosure of ingredients is helpful for researchers and governments because they can track and see substances that can cause harm in addition to nicotine, which can be addictive to young people. But sometimes people wonder if young people have a very small list of ingredients if they will read. What is preferable is a bigger warning,” he said.

Similar to the cigarette warnings that were recently proposed and expected to be implemented by the end of 2023, Arango said: A prominent warning, such as a cigarette that covers 75% of a pack, very directly addresses the dangers of E-cigarettes, which would be more useful.