Toronto/IBNS: New national data showed Canadian teenagers' vaping rates are highest in the world and there is a lack of action by the federal government experts amid the widespread availability of flavoured vapes, leading to a growing crisis.

Health Canada's Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey's latest study included 61,096 teenagers in grades 7 to 12 from nine provinces between September 2021 and June 2022 and found that 29 percent of Canadian students had ever tried an e-cigarette.

Although that number is down from 34 percent in 2018-19, it is higher in the older age group.
Daily vaping rates across all students surveyed were eight percent and nearly 12 percent among those in grades 10 to 12, which according to experts are some of the highest ever reported globally.

Widespread availability of disposable vapes with thousands of pre-loaded puffs, which don't require refilling or cartridges are linked to a surge in youth vaping. new youth vaping survey data showed.

"We're very concerned by the long-term issue that e-cigarette use by teenagers continues to be very high — unacceptably high," Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society was reported to say and added,

"And we need the federal government to move immediately to ban flavoured e-cigarettes, a factor that is contributing to these high rates."

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)