The issue of vaping has shown up on the campaign trail, after the U.S. announced it was committed to banning flavoured e-cigarettes.
The ban announced over concerns on underage vaping on the rise, along with six reported deaths related to e-cigarette use. Health authorities continue to investigate those reports along with breathing illnesses in people who have vaped.
Questions were raised on the campaign trial whether the party leaders would support a similar ban in Canada.
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer says he wants to take a closer look into the U.S. regulations and supported measures to curb underage smoking and vaping.
"I haven't seen specifically the new regulations that the U.S. government has put in, but we will certainly take a look at them."
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was also concerned for the well-being of young Canadians.
"I want us to make good decisions and good policies that protect the safety and the health of Canadians. And so everything we should do, everything we do should be with that focus in mind."
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau says more research was needed on the health effects.
"I can tell you that Health Canada has been engaged with this issue over many months, in consultations, working with experts and researchers to determine the right path forward. We've already taken a number of steps on vaping and harmful tobacco use."
None of the three major party leaders made any firm stance that they would follow in the U.S. steps.
According to a spokeswoman with Health Canada, no pulmonary illnesses cases or deaths have been reported.
Ruth Cordukes, Public Health Nurse with Waterloo Region says they recommend against vaping as an alternative to smoking, as there is still very little research available on the possible health effects. That "more research needs to be done."
"So what we can say is that with vaping, the chemicals that are in the e-juice were never intended to be inhaled. Chemicals in there may have been tested for their safety when you swallow them and your gut breaks them down, but lungs were never designed to filter those kinds of chemicals, so there's a lot that we don't know," she says, adding they're still not even sure about the effects of second-hand vape smoke either.
Cordukes is especially worried for youth who have taken up vaping, saying those under the age of 25, along with pregnant women, were the most vulnerable to any adverse chemicals in e-cigarettes.
"The unknown risks associated with the chemicals that can be found in e-juice, and because there are so many different of e-juice in the market, it makes it really hard to say, from one flavour to another, what those risks are."
She says teen vaping was on the rise, citing the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) done in 2016-2017. Grade 7-12 students were survey and found that 11 per cent had reported vape use with or without nicotine. More up-to-date statistics are expected by the end of December this year.
The Public Health Unit also recommended against the use of e-cigarettes to quit smoking, favouring more tried and true methods like nicotine replacement therapy and prescription medication.
You can learn more about the vaping, tobacco and cannabis at the Public Health Website. You can also call the Waterloo health unit at 519-575-4400 for more information.
With files from the Canadian Press
