Alexandra Kerr

20058305
HLTH 315 Vaping Among Canadian High School Youth
Prevalence
- E-cigarettes and vaping products containing
nicotine were legalized and formally regulated by
the Canadian federal government in 2018 under
the Tobacco and Vaping Product Act (TVPA),
prohibiting the sale to those under 18 yrs old.
- There are concerns over increases in vaping
among Canadian youths currently in high school
or aged 13-18 yrs old.
- As Figure1 demonstrates, the proportion of
Canadian high school aged youths who have ever
vaped significantly increased between 2017 and
2019 in Canada from 41.1% to 48.0%. (Hammond
et al., 2020)
- Vaping has become a more habitual practice
among Canadian youth with the percentage of
regular users of vape products significantly
increasing from 41.7% in 2017 to 60.1% in 2019.
(Hammond et al., 2020) (Leventhal et al., 2015)
- Among Canadian youth aged 13-18yrs old,
vaping, among single substance users, is becoming
comparable with alcohol use. (Williams et al.,
2019) (Zuckermann et al., 2019)
Health Effects
Vaping, similarly to smoking, has detrimental
health effects. Many of which are well known,
however, vaping presents many unknown
outcomes as it is an emerging, less studied,
technology. Some of the well known health effects
include; respiratory injury, cognitive impairment,
decreased mental well being, and significant
increases in cellular toxicity, cellular dysfunction, The SCT includes five key constructs: knowledge, perceived self-efficacy, outcome
alterations in cellular metabolism, and
inflammation. (Dinardo & Rome, 2019) (Madison youth who currently vape or are considered susceptible to vaping, reported
et al., 2019) (Chung et al., 2017) (Martin et al.
2016) (Capaldi et al., 2021)
Figure1. Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking, Vaping, and Dual Use Among Youths, 2017 to 2019. (Hammond et al.,
2020)
Determinants & Availability
Determinants of which have potentially harmful effects, leading to increased rates of
Canadian youth vaping include, but are not limited to:
- Exposure to normative influences. The promotion of vaping products through
marketing. (Mantey et al., 2016) (Barrington et al., 2015)
- Socio-economic status. (Green et al., 2020) (Barker et al., 2019)
- Gender. Male youth are more likely to engage in Vaping related behaviors than
female youth. (Rohde et al., 2021)
- Observational learning. Exposure to peers or adults engaging in vaping related
behaviors significantly increases youth susceptibility. (Lippert et al., 2019) (Mantey et
al., 2021)
- Only 6.7% of Canadian high school aged youth reported purchasing a vape product in
the past year. (Braak et al., 2020)
45.5% reported getting their vaping products only from social sources.
40.4% only from commercial sources with vape shops being the most common
location.
4.1% from both types of sources.
Prevention and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) Implementation
expectations, goal formation, and sociostructural factors. In regard to education,
significantly lower risk beliefs about the health harms and addictive tendencies of
vaping. (Barker et al., 2019 ) (Rohde et al., 2021) (Bernat et al., 2018)

Increasing youth knowledge and the perception of detrimental effects of vaping, through conversations with health care providers or
guardians could lead to increase knowledge, self-efficacy in abstaining from vaping, and accurate outcome expectations in youth
considering engaging in vaping.

The SCT also highlights the importance environmental determinants have in influencing adolescent health behaviors. (Bless &
Greifeneder, 2017) Environmental determinants most affecting Canadian youths vaping include: (Tom, 2020)
Peer use and perception
Product availability
Marketing
School implemented prevention strategies that focus on enhancing youth vaping knowledge and perceptions of self-efficacy, while
banning the use or vaping products within schools have been the most effective in reducing youth who have ever tried vaping related
products. (Milicic et al., 2018) (McKeganey et al., 2017)
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