Toronto-area parents frustrated teens are buying products directly from vape shops and corner stores
It came as a shock to Jane Neville when she discovered one of her twin daughters, just 13 at the time, was vaping.
A man was caught coming onto a Toronto middle school's property, illegally selling vape kits to girls. The police got involved and Neville thought that would be the end of it.
But since then, she has pulled six kits from her daughter, who's now 15.
"She says she's stopped vaping, but to me that's one problem. The other problem is how did she get this in the beginning? And how does she keep acquiring it?" Neville, 54, asked from her front porch in the area of the city known as the Beach.
CBC Toronto spoke with several parents grappling with the fact young people are getting their hands on vapour products — often buying them themselves directly from vape shops or corner stores, despite being under the legal age, which is 19 in Ontario.
It comes as health officials in the United States are reporting growing numbers of breathing illnesses among teens, or adults who have used an electronic cigarette or some other kind of vaping device.
One reported death, in the U.S., has been tied to vaping. It involved an adult in Illinois who was vaping before being hospitalized with a "severe respiratory illness."
- Canadian health officials on alert after reports of vaping illnesses in the U.S.
- Vaping among Canadian teens spikes by 74% in 1 year, Waterloo study finds
So far, there have been no reports of acute lung injury in Canada, though it's a serious concern, says the director of the cardiac intensive-care unit at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.
"That does not mean it hasn't occurred," said Dr. Akshay Bagai. "What it means is people who vape and parents of children who vape should report any mysterious illness to their family doctor or Health Canada."
No comments:
Post a Comment