CAMH Releases New E-cigarette Use Guidance and Recommendations

The Innovation, Nicotine and Tobacco, Research, Education Programming, Implementation and Digital Health Lab (INTREPID Lab) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), has released a new toolkit describing the health impacts of e-cigarettes across four key areas: cancer, cardiovascular health, dependence, and respiratory health. The resources included in this toolkit include recommendations and resources to guide decision-making for both healthcare practitioners and people who either use, or are thinking of using e-cigarettes.

The prevalence of e-cigarette use is increasing in Canada; in 2022, six per cent of Canadians, (representing 1.8 million people), used e-cigarettes in the last 30 days (Statistics Canada, 2023). Among youth, vaping has nearly doubled since the late 2000s, with stress reduction (30.5 per cent), curiosity (27.0 per cent), and enjoyment (22.9 per cent) as reported reasons for use (as per Statistics Canada, 2023). While an increase in e-cigarette use increases the number of people exposed to nicotine, e-cigarettes may simultaneously provide a lower-risk alternative for those who use commercial combustible tobacco products. The resources developed by the INTREPID Lab offer important, evidence-based insights on both the potential harms and benefits of e-cigarette use.

“There’s a perception that e-cigarette use, or vaping, is harmless or non-addictive to youth who have never smoked,” said Dr. Peter Selby, Senior Scientist, Senior Medical Consultant, and Principal Investigator, INTREPID Lab at CAMH. “Though e-cigarettes are considered less harmful than combustible cigarettes for those addicted to conventional cigarettes, they are not risk-free. These resources were created to help healthcare practitioners better understand the health effects of e-cigarette use as a harm reduction intervention, and help patients make informed decisions, while preventing youth from getting addicted to nicotine in the first place.”

The Vaping and Electronic Cigarette Toxicity Overview and Recommendations (Project VECTOR) toolkit was developed in collaboration with a panel of international subject matter experts and people with lived and living experience of using e-cigarettes. Key findings from Project VECTOR include:

Though e-cigarettes are less harmful than combustible tobacco cigarettes, they are not entirely risk free. E-cigarette use has the potential to cause harms to health.
E-cigarette use may lead to dependence. E-cigarette use is associated with increases in dependence, and long-term use of these products should be avoided.
People who do not smoke should not use e-cigarettes to avoid exposure to cancer-causing chemicals, cardiovascular toxicants, respiratory dysfunction and symptoms, and dependence.
E-cigarettes may be used as a harm reduction tool for those who smoke. Tobacco users who have been unable or unwilling to quit smoking using current best evidence-based approaches, should switch completely to e-cigarettes to reduce exposure to cardiovascular toxicants and improve measures of cardiovascular function (where relapse to tobacco is not a concern). Long-term use should be avoided.

Project VECTOR was completed in partnership with the Ontario Tobacco and Research Unit (OTRU), and made possible through Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP). Please note that the views expressed in these resources do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada. To access the full toolkit, including Health Effects of E-Cigarette Use: Guidance and Recommendations for healthcare practitioners, Harm Reduction Tips, and FAQs on Vaping, please visit https://intrepidlab.ca/en/Pages/Project-VECTOR.aspx.

Originally posted by Centre for Addiction and Mental Health