By Jack Boomer
British Columbia has long prided itself as a leader in public health and tobacco control. But confidence in past success has led BC to let its guard down, and today Big Tobacco is quietly back—in a clever guise.
On the surface, things look promising. Smoking rates in the province are falling, reinforcing the idea that we are moving in the right direction.
But beneath that progress something else is happening.
More young people are vaping in BC, and nicotine is quietly making a comeback in a new form. Walk past a group of teenagers today and you’re more likely to smell mango or cotton candy than tobacco smoke. Addiction hasn’t disappeared—it’s just been repackaged.
And the policy makers did not keep it.
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances we know. Health Canada says how it can affect one A young person’s brain develops, including memory, attention and mood.
There are also immediate health concerns. Vaping can irritate the lungs and affect the heart and we still don’t To fully understand the long-term effects.
This is no small matter. Across Canada, approx One in three 15- to 19-year-olds have tried vaping And 15 percent of Canadian youth (grades 7-12) are currently vaping regularly.
this year World No Tobacco DayLed by the World Health Organization, focuses on “Unmasking the appeal: Countering nicotine and tobacco addiction”. The idea of ”unmasking” is important because what young people see today doesn’t seem dangerous. It is being packaged as fun, tasty and harmless.
But that is not the whole story.
Flavors are one of the main reasons young people start vaping. In BC, 42 per cent of youth have tried vaping, and 27 per cent said they had used it in the past month. Also, a large majority of BC youth are older 16 to 18 who vape still use fruit-flavored products.
These flavors are not addictive – they make it easy to start and hard to stop.
So, what can legislators in BC do?
They can start by modernizing our tobacco-control system, which is more than 20 years old. Existing policies do not add up to a coordinated response, and nicotine markets are evolving faster than public health systems.
Take flavored nicotine products as an example. BC did not ban Their – it moved them. Most flavors have disappeared from convenience stores, but they are widely available in adult-only vape shops. This may reduce visibility, but it doesn’t remove the appeal or access that a large portion of youth still report using flavored vape products.
Other provinces have gone further. Quebec, Nova Scotia And Prince Edward Island Most non-tobacco flavors are banned. BC chose a middle path, and the results suggest it’s not working.
If BC truly wants to protect young people, it must respond with greater urgency and clarity. This means a modern nicotine plan that addresses vaping and smoking together, focuses on prevention, supports people trying to quit, and keeps pace with rapidly changing products.
It should start with decisive action on taste.
A total ban on flavored nicotine products won’t solve everything, but it will remove one of the strongest drivers of youth consumption. Flavors aren’t a minor detail—they’re the heart of the matter. In fact, many young people complain of vaping just “for the smell”.
Other provinces have already done so. If protecting youth is a priority, BC should be prepared to follow their lead.
Because if the new generation gets addicted to nicotine through vaping, that’s not going to reduce cigarette use. The result is the same. Addiction is addiction.
On this World No Tobacco Day, we have a choice. We can continue half-measures and hope the problem stabilizes. Or we can act with purpose and make a real difference.
Earlier led by B.C. BC can lead again.
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About Jack Boomer
Jack Boomer is executive director of the Clean Air Coalition of B.C. BC’s Clean Air Coalition includes the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society, and collaborates with the BC Lung Association and the BC Alliance for Healthy Living.
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This post was Previously published on Quoimedia.com and is republished here under a Creative Commons License.
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