The public health board that serves Northumberland County is undertaking a campaign to help local businesses understand the new provincial regulations regarding the sale of electronic cigarettes.
The new Electronic Cigarettes Act, which took effect on January 1, treats e-cigarettes like other tobacco products, in banning the sale and supply of e-cigarettes (and their vaping components) to anyone under 19 years of age.
Tobacco control officer with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge health unit Lorna Jordan says the unit is currently working with local businesses affected by the Act. providing educational materials – including the required signage.
She quotes a Harvard University study in 2015 found a chemical used in the majority of flavoured e-cigarettes has been linked to a severe respiratory disease.
A New England Journal of Medicine published a study that found e-cigarettes produce formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen.
Jordan says health unit staff have noticed an increase in the number of high school students using e-cigarette over the past year.
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