Canada registered the first hospitalization for severe respiratory illness associated with vaping on Wednesday, health authorities in the province of Ontario reported.
The announcement, made by the Middlesex-London health unit, comes after an outbreak in the United States of cases related to this habit, known as “vaping,” which has killed seven people and sickened hundreds.
THE CASE OF A TEENAGER
According to Canadian authorities, “a young man has been diagnosed with a severe respiratory illness that has been linked to the individual’s use of vaping products.”
At a press conference, a doctor from that health unit reported that a London, Ontario high school student, who vaped daily, was admitted to the intensive care unit of a local hospital, but has since recovered. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported vaping-related illness in Canada,” said the doctor.
Electronic cigarettes have been available in the United States and Canada since 2006, and are frequently used as a substitute to abandon the habit of traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes.
Despite Canada’s existing ban on selling these devices to minors, their use among teens has skyrocketed in recent years. In the United States, about 3.6 million high school students used vaping products in 2018, an increase of 1.5 million over the previous year.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT E-CIGS IN MEXICO
According to specialists, it will take at least 20 years to know the true consequences of its use, since just 10 years ago it began to become popular, especially among young people.
“The amount of nicotine that they may be supplying is not adequately measured, in addition to the flavorings that, when combusted within the devices, can release certain carcinogens. Heavy metals like zinc, selenium, also tar. The flavorings, the flavorings ”, Ricardo Cárdenas, executive director of Sanitary Supervision and Surveillance of Cofepris told Noticieros Televisa.