Stricter laws are required in PEI for electronic cigarettes

Trends are changing constantly but for a while now, one of the biggest trends among both teenagers and adults is the use of electronic cigarettes also known as "vapes" , and with all honesty I am not talking about whether they should be legal or not but about how we need to start enforcing stricter laws in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I) for electronic cigarettes, and for those who are unaware an E-Cigarette or vape is a battery powered handheld device often cigarette shaped, which vaporizes a flavored nicotine liquid that is then inhaled used to simulate the experience of smoking tobacco. Some people trying to quit smoking cigarettes have switched over to electronic cigarettes to try to completely quit while others who have never smoked before in their life decided to start “vaping.” A fair amount of these people have reasons such as it is supposed to be healthier than smoking especially when you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, it tastes better and I can pick whatever flavour I want, it is supposedly cheaper, and if used for quitting purposes you can control the nicotine and use it as a way of slowly quitting, of course, those are not the only reasons people use electronic cigarettes just some top reasons I found. Just to give you a little way into the world of E-cigs. Canadian Public Health Leader shows that 9% or 2.5 million Canadians 15 and older have tried an electronic cigarette and if we go further into that statistic it shows that 20% of teens 15 -19 and 20-24 have tried them.

Across Canada, the different regions have different outlooks on the use of vapes and some are completely against it with the use of them being illegal and with that being said Prince Edward Island is not one of them. P.E.I was one of the first regions to allow it as of October 1st, 2015 the people of P.E.I have had access to buying and using electronic cigarettes and on September 1st of 2015, the law of smoke-free places was put into place.

The laws of Canada for the use of E-cigarettes vary depending on the region but for P.E.I the laws show that it is banned to smoke inside of public places (schools, universities, government buildings, stores, etc) Inside of a vehicle with children under the age of sixteen present. The use of E-cig promotion be it posters or any other form of promotion outside of the store as any promotion that has misleading information towards one's health and safety, also sale and supply to minors, sale where tobacco sale is banned and the use of an electronic cigarette at a bar or restaurant patio except between 10:00 pm and 3:00 am or within 4.5 meters of doors or windows. In other regions of Canada, the laws change some be it simply different ages straight to it being illegal to smoke anything from a normal cigarette to a vape.

I am effected by electronic cigarettes as I have people in my life who use them on regular basis, but their lives have not been affected largely by them in a hasty manner yet that being one of the main reasons why I do not have a huge opinion on whether they stay or go, although with them being around the laws surrounding them could be more enforced as one of the laws simply says sale and supply to minors is banned and yet personally I know more minors who own vapes than I do adults, going back to that 20 % of teens in Canada have tried them, showing that teenagers always have a way to get their hands on something if they really want it. Another law that does not get followed well when talking about the use of electronic cigarettes is that they are not to be used when in a vehicle when with a child under the age of 16, so we automatically know that could be broken when some people under the age of 16 re the one doing the smoking but then even with adults, it does not get followed as well as it could. The laws on electronic cigarettes need to be reinforced stricter as to make it difficult for minors to get a hold of because although some sources may say that they are healthy and safe in 2009 Health Canada came out with this to say “Nicotine is a highly addictive and toxic substance. Although these electronic smoking products may be marketed as a safer alternative to conventional tobacco products and, in some cases, as an aid to quitting smoking, electronic smoking products may pose risks such as nicotine poisoning and addiction. ” Which is not something adults should get involved with let alone young teenagers.

All in all the laws around vapes need to be enforced to not only keep adults safe but to keep future generations safe as it is unknown whether it is safe to use electronic cigarette keep the laws strict and keep the people safe.