Most young British Columbians say they’ve never touched a vape, according to a new study, but that’s not what experts say is actually happening in schools.
The study, from the McCreary Centre Society, of 2,784 people between the ages of 12 and 19 found that 69 per cent had never vaped.
“The most common reasons these youth gave for not vaping were thinking it would be bad for their health (87 per cent) and not being interested in vaping (85 per cent),” the society reported.
But among those who had picked up the habit, 66 per cent had done it in the last month, and almost one-third admitted to vaping every single day.
The society also found vaping was linked to the use of other nicotine products.
“Youth who had vaped were more likely than those who had never vaped to have smoked tobacco (63 per cent vs. two per cent) and to have used nicotine pouches (36 per cent vs. two per cent). Among youth who had used nicotine pouches, 40 per cent used them while playing sports or exercising (e.g., 43 per cent of males vs. 25 per cent of females).”
Its survey found that poor mental health played a key role in young people being more likely to vape either recently or regularly.
“For example, youth who experienced extreme stress in the past month were more likely than those who experienced lower levels of stress to have vaped during that time (72 per cent vs. 61 per cent; among youth who had tried vaping) and to have vaped every day (44 per cent vs. 28 per cent).”
Christopher Lam, president and CEO of the BC Lung Foundation, tells 1130 NewsRadio the situation is dire.
“It’s reaching epidemic levels,” said Lam.
“The truth is, it’s a serious issue and it’s affecting our kids and it’s something we need to take action on right away.”
Lam says vaping is no longer common or popular just among teens.
“The kids that are starting are starting at an age that is astoundingly young. We’re seeing them start even as soon as the age of 10. So, if you think about it, that’s a Grade 4 or Grade 5… It’s in our elementary schools.”
As a result, he says educational tools warning of the dangers are being expanded from secondary to the primary school level.
Lam agrees there are several factors why a person starts to vape, including social media, peer pressure and the illusion that it’s ‘cool.’
He says the marketing is also geared towards kids.
“One of the primary factors that we know of why kids start vaping, specifically, is the flavours. The flavours that are out there in the marketplace, they range from things like birthday cake and unicorn’s breath and peach fuzz… They’re intentionally candy flavours.”
He points out that the technology makes it easy to hide from parents.
“It looks like a new device, similar to a new phone or new watch. You’ve got a new toy that’s electronic-based, and kids are attracted to that,” said Lam.
“We’re putting our educators in really, really tough spots because they don’t look like anything out of the ordinary. It could be a USB key, some of them are shaped like pencils and pens, and what’s even crazier is the new technology uses something called ‘heat-not-burn.’ We typically think of vapour products as having that big cloud of smoke… this new technology doesn’t even have that. It’s hard to detect ,and we’re putting schools at a disadvantage if they’re trying to crack down on that.”
He explains that students are often caught vaping in school washrooms and hallways.
“Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances in the world, and its impact on a developing child’s brain is significant.”
Lam says one solution would be removing access and beefing up laws.
“The minimum age to legally purchase vapour and tobacco products is 19, and I’ve said they’re starting as early as 10. One of the things is we want to remove this idea that it’s a normal thing to have in our society. The truth of the matter is, it’s not a healthy thing, no matter why you think you need to have it. We want to respect there is an addiction aspect to this and we want to respect that people who are going through something need to have it… but, at the same time, if we were to implement policies in our province similar to a smoke-free generation, it would start to denormalize the concept that it’s accessible and available.”
The foundation says the bottom line is there is no safe age to vape. Lam says he’s aware of people in B.C. who are being treated for the “popcorn lung” effect of regular vape use.
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He says studies show several other issues arise with regular use, especially in children.
“Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances in the world, and its impact on a developing child’s brain is significant. We’re talking about reduced cognition, memory loss, comprehension issues and those things are not things that necessarily will recover over time,” said Lam.
“To put it really bluntly, vaping may be making our kids stupid.”
Lam is clear, not everyone who vapes is a lost cause, but says the effects can be long-term.
“There are definitely signs of decline and signs of slower recovery, and to what level that recovery comes is still unknown.”
“To put it really bluntly, vaping may be making our kids stupid.”
He says the foundation operates the province’s QuitNow cessation program, which was once only focused on smoking, but two years ago expanded to include vaping.
“It was intended for adults, because that’s who smoked, and what we’ve come to realize is we need to create a program that is for youth, by youth. And the number of kids that are accessing it is astounding. That demonstrates there are a number of kids who do want to quit.”
Lam says the kids the foundation is seeing trying to quit have been heartbreaking, including one 13-year-old.
“We had spoken to one child who said she needed to have her hit first thing in the morning, she had to have another hit after her shower, she needed to have another hit before she had breakfast, she needed to have another hit before she left for school. She said when she wakes up, she needs ’40 nic.’ Without any regulation, she’s probably taking in more nicotine than we’ve ever seen kids that age take in the history of time. She said she wanted help, and that was brave. We asked how she got her hands on this in the first place, and she said she got it as a hand-me-down from her brother, and her brother was 18.”
He explains there may be a misconception around it, but assures the public that vaping can be deadly.
“I don’t want to overdramatize this, but without a doubt, vaping can kill you. The number of chemicals that you’re ingesting — especially ones that are unregulated at this point — are extremely dangerous.”
Lam advises parents to get their kids help, but says the child has to be the first one to get on board with quitting.
The Ministry of Health tells 1130 NewsRadio it’s taking steps to mitigate the effect on young people.
In a statement, it says B.C. updated the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act in 2015 to include vapour products, banning all tobacco and vapour use from many locations, including schools.
“The Act also puts restrictions on the sale, distribution and advertising/promotion of tobacco and vapour products to minors under 19 years; bans smoking and vaping in indoor public and workplaces; restricts where tobacco and vapour products may be sold, offered for sale or distributed; and prohibits the sale of cigarettes in packages of fewer than 20,” the ministry stated.
Five years ago, it also enacted the E-Substances Regulation, while making additional amendments to the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Regulation, and Health Hazards Regulation.
“We also implemented the Vaping Action Plan to address the rise of youth vaping in B.C. and focused on regulatory, financial, and education and awareness measures to protect youth from the harms of vaping.”
In 2024, the government restricted the sale of buccal nicotine pouches like Zonnic to behind-the-counter pharmacy sales.
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The ministry also admits it knows parents are worried about what may be happening to their kids.
“We recognize the deep concern from families, educators, and health professionals about the continued rise in youth vaping-particularly the concern of young people accessing flavoured products. This issue is not only affecting students’ health and well-being but also placing long-term pressure on the health-care system. The province is treating youth vaping as a serious and urgent public health challenge. While there is no single solution, we are taking a multi-faceted approach-combining regulatory action, public education, industry accountability, and school-based prevention programs-to better protect young people and prevent lifelong nicotine addiction.”
While vaping hits new levels, the province also maintains its focus on the ongoing opioid crisis.
“[It] remains a major priority. The province continues to invest in programs that address youth vaping and nicotine use. This includes funding for school-based prevention initiatives like PreVenture, public education campaigns such as the A-Z of Vaping, and cessation supports through QuitNow. These investments are part of a broader commitment to support youth mental health, substance use prevention, and early intervention-recognizing that multiple public health challenges must be addressed in parallel.”