A London-area youth had to be put on life support as a result of Canada’s first confirmed vaping-related illness.
The country’s first reported case of severe pulmonary illness came on Wednesday following the request from Ontario’s minister of health Christine Elliot to release the data on the disease.
“We are dealing with this as a priority across our government,” she said.
Middlesex-London Public Health officials are not releasing the age, gender, and location of the young person for patient privacy. They say they are now recovering at home.
“I want to be clear,” said public health medical officer Dr. Christopher Mackie. “There was no other potential cause identified other than vaping.”
The confirmation comes on the same day that a seventh person in the U.S. has reportedly died because of vaping e-cigarettes.
“The use of e-cigarettes is escalating,” said public health manager of chronic disease Linda Stobo. “Especially by high school-aged youth, which is a major concern for us.”
The London-area health unit has laid 16 charged and issued another 238 warning for vaping on school properties. This includes cases at elementary schools.
“We absolutely think they should be banned,” Christina Sperling of the Ontario Lung Association said. “We don’t think that they should be available to youth at all.”
While it is technically illegal for anyone under 18, vaping has seen a 74 per cent increase among Canadian youth.
“It’s important that people understand vaping does create health risks,” said Mackie.
The centres for disease control is now linking a Vitamin E additive to the deaths in the U.S.
Canadian officials say they are unwilling to come to that conclusion until there’s more data available.
