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Local university students and youth health advocates are urging the Alberta government to consider tougher regulations to stop kids from vaping — but their pleas may have fallen on deaf ears.

Members of the group Stop Addicting Adolescents to Vaping and E-cigarettes (SAAVE) recently surveyed Alberta’s 86 MPs, asking them for their opinions on three proposed legislative changes to restrict vaping and e-cigarettes among youth.

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Established in 2019, SAAVE is an advocacy group made up of 38 undergraduate and secondary health sciences students from the University of Calgary, with a mandate to combat nicotine addiction among youth.

The group wants the government to consider banning all non-tobacco vaping flavors, ban single-use vaping devices and require retailers to stock all vaping products behind the counter.

In a survey, SAAVE members contacted Alberta’s 86 MLAs up to three times each, from September 23 to October 7, using a standardized script to ask whether or not they supported the proposed regulations .

At a press conference on Monday, SAAVE members highlighted that the vast majority of MPs either ignored their poll or made no commitment in their support.

“It was quite disappointing because we really wanted to understand their perspective on our three measures to prevent nicotine addiction among youth,” said Lisa Wei, a second-year biomedical sciences student and SAAVE member. .

Few MPs express support

According to SAAVE, only two MPs — Lacombe-Ponoka Rep. Jennifer Johnson and Calgary-Lougheed Rep. Eric Bouchard, both of the UCP — expressed support, but only for the sales requirement behind the counter. Four MPs told SAAVE that they were explicitly opposed to the suggested changes, while 40 percent did not respond and 51 percent did not take a position.

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Among those who have not taken a position is Health Minister Adriana LaGrange. Instead, she asked the group to read the Tobacco, Smoking and Vaping Reduction Act and other government policies to interpret her position on the issue.

In a statement to Postmedia, LaGrange’s office said the province has taken a balanced approach to regulating vaping and e-cigarettes, noting that the government released a new tobacco and vaping reduction strategy last January. . The strategy includes the creation of a provincial committee that will include youth representatives.

“We recognize SAAVE’s statements regarding the harms of vaping products, as well as their advocacy to restrict the flavors of these products, ban the sale of single-use vapes, and place vaping devices behind pharmacy counters,” said LaGrange’s press secretary, Jessi Rampton. .

“Former smokers have told us that the availability of flavored vaping products has helped them quit smoking. However, we also heard that these flavors could encourage young people to use vaping products. That’s why we’ve chosen a balanced approach that will protect young people from vaping products while helping adults who want to use them reduce or quit smoking.

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Arguments for and against banning flavored vaping products

Although overall tobacco consumption has declined significantly compared to 2017, provincial statistics from earlier this year indicate that one in three Albertans aged 15 to 19 now vape, double the rate from ago seven years.

SAAVE members attribute the increase to the assortment of fruity flavors that can often entice young people to try vaping for the first time. “We know that every day more and more young people are becoming addicted to nicotine through vaping,” said Denniela Jean Belen, a second-year biomedical sciences student.

The ban on flavored vaping products has some precedent in Canada, as other provinces, including Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, have implemented such policies.

The federal government also promised in 2021 to ban flavored vaping products nationwide, but has yet to do so. At a news conference earlier this month, a coalition of Canada’s leading tobacco control agencies condemned the continued delay and called on federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Ya’ara Saks to either finalize the ban, or withdraw so that someone else can follow up.

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The Canadian Vaping Association, which represents the vaping industry, says banning flavored vaping products would drive more than a million adult users to smoke cigarettes, which they say is a more harmful to consume nicotine.

And banning a highly regulated and in-demand product would only help fuel the illicit market, according to the association’s president, Sam Tam, who argued that flavor is the most important element for someone who smokes cigarettes would turn to vaping.

“It’s not because they like the taste of an ashtray; it’s because they are addicted to nicotine,” he said. “It’s important to understand that people in this situation have an addiction and if you give them a product that tastes much better, it will be easier for them to quit.”

Rather than banning flavored products, Tam argued that the most effective strategy for restricting youth access to e-cigarettes is to enforce existing regulations, imposing substantial fines and suspending the licenses of non-compliant companies. .

“When it comes to youth protection, we all agree that we don’t want young people to vape,” he said.

— With files from Jackie Carmichael

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