Twenty minutes. That’s how long it took 15-year-old Liam* to get nicotine vaporizers from three convenience stores in Montreal. Affordable, easy to use, and hugely popular with teenagers, these products can become highly addictive in a matter of weeks.
Posted at 5:00 am
“I would have a watermelon vuse.
“I don’t have a watermelon.” I only have strawberry or passion fruit.
“Passion fruit, please. »
As soon as young Liam enters a grocery store in Ahuntsic district, he comes out with a small black vape and a pack of fruity flavored disposable nicotine cartridges. Without being asked for ID to confirm his age.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
One of the convenience stores frequented by Liam (fictional first name).
The same scenario is repeated a few minutes later in two shops in the Villeray district. Clerks at a supermarket and tobacconist sold the teenager nicotine-based vaporizers without checking if he was of legal age, as required by law.
In downtown Montreal, Liam doesn’t get off that easily. Four grocery stores and two specialty smoking stores on Berri Street asked for his ID. The young man is denied the purchase of the product, claiming that he does not have it with him.
Get it without too much hassle
These “worrying” results surprise Dr. Nicholas Chadi, a pediatrician at CHU Sainte-Justine and author of the Canadian Pediatric Society’s Recommendations on Smoking and Vaping, does not.
Young people tell me almost every day that they can easily get vape products at the convenience store and that there is no age verification even though it is illegal in Quebec to sell nicotine products under the age of 18.
dr Nicholas Chadi, Pediatrician at CHU Sainte-Justine
Minors can also get them directly from their peers at school or from older relatives, argues Dr. Chadi. “It’s very easy for a teenager in Quebec to get vape products these days. »
The same goes for Dominique Claveau, director of prevention at the Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health. “We’re getting more and more calls from high schools, sometimes even elementary schools, because they’re struggling with a steam problem. There are [adolescents] who tell us they can get them at the convenience store,” she says.
A strong enthusiasm among young people
Vaping has seen a dramatic rise in popularity in recent years. About half of the students tried a vaping product by high school. According to the latest national data from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, almost a third of these young people reported using it in the previous month.
The use of vaping products among young people skyrocketed between 2015 and 2020 as small cartridge vapes that are easy to use and affordable appeared.
dr Nicholas Chadi, Pediatrician at CHU Sainte-Justine
The expert complains that since the pandemic, rates have remained at a high level despite education and federal laws that limit nicotine concentrations.
Not so harmless products
Consuming vaping products is anything but safe. In particular, depending on the type of liquid that is poured into the vapers, we can find chemicals or traces of heavy metals that are responsible for lung problems, says Dr. Chadi.
“I see it in my practice: adolescents who vape report coughing, shortness of breath on exertion and lung problems more often,” he explains.
Nicotine found in vapes and cigarettes is a highly addictive chemical.
Using vaping products for a few weeks is enough to develop addiction in young people.
dr Nicholas Chadi, Pediatrician at CHU Sainte-Justine
Disposable vapes that hold 2.0ml of liquid with a nicotine strength of 20mg/ml, like the one Liam bought from the tobacconist, contain as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. “It’s significant. Adolescents will go through multiple vapes or cartridges a week or even a day,” says Dr. Chadi.
Adolescent nicotine addiction can affect emotional control, sleep and appetite, and lead the young person to use other substances such as cannabis. “Nicotine use can impair brain development,” he adds.
Eliminate odors
To reduce the appeal of vaping products, Dr. Chadi and the Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health to ban “flavors and aromas” (fragrances) in vapor products.
La Presse reported on Wednesday that draft regulations banning flavorings in vapor products are set to be passed in the coming weeks. In 2019, the Legault government announced its intention to ban perfumes, but did not come up with a new regulatory framework.
“This is a step in the right direction,” says Dr. Chadi.
For its part, the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) agrees that “the continued protection of young people should be a priority”. But she believes removing perfume would be “a public health disaster” as she fears a rise in smoking rates, weakening protections for young people and exacerbating a “rapidly expanding black market,” she said in a statement on Thursday .
* The teenager’s first name has been changed to protect his anonymity.
Learn more
51% Percentage of teenage vapers aged 15-17 who typically source their products from a vape store, convenience store, tobacconist or gas station.
Source: Quebec Survey on Tobacco and Vaping Products 2020 conducted by the Institut de la statistique du Québec
18% percentage of Quebec youth ages 15-17 who vaped in the 30 days prior to the survey
Source: Quebec Survey on Tobacco and Vaping Products 2020 conducted by the Institut de la statistique du Québec