Watch above: If your New Year’s resolution is to quit smoking, you may be tempted to try an e-cigarette. It’s a trend that many say is growing in Saskatoon and as Joel Senick reports, advocacy groups and legislators are taking notice.
SASKATOON – The electronic cigarette business is booming in Saskatchewan, with many people trying to kick their smoking habit, according to a Saskatoon business owner.
“It’s the new cool thing; it’s the new trend,” said Adam Churchman, owner of Vapourdawg, an electronic cigarette business that was founded in Saskatoon.
Churchman said he used e-cigs to stop himself from smoking, but found that there wasn’t a ton of product available in the city. He opened his business last April and has since added a second location in Moose Jaw, Sask.
“A lot busier,” said Churchman when asked how his business has changed since he opened. He added that he regularly serves new customers.
An e-cigarette is a battery powered device that heats up a “juice,” which sometimes contains nicotine, and is then released as a vapour.
READ MORE: E-cigarettes more popular among U.S. teens than tobacco cigarettes: study
The Lung Association of Saskatchewan does not recommend e-cigs to patients who are looking to quit smoking because they’re not regulated, according to Jill Hubick a health promotion coordinator with the association.
“We need to know what’s in them,” said Hubick, who is also a registered nurse.
“Then they need to be studied, and we need to know what the short-term, if there is any, or long term effects of our health can be,” she added.
That sentiment is echoed by officials in Warman, who included e-cigs in a new smoking regulation bylaw that went into effect this month. The new measures prohibit smoking in a number of places, including sports fields and outdoor restaurant patios. In the bylaw, e-cigs are treated no differently than conventional cigarettes.
“The more we researched it, the more the research was unclear on what was out there,” said Gary Philipchuk, Warman’s deputy mayor.
“We thought it was safer to go the route of an e-cigarette ban.”
The ban was part of a much larger effort to create a “smoke-free Warman,” according to Philipchuk.
“I think we’re looking at the bigger picture of the acceptance of smoking and just that accessibility to other people’s air,” he said.
“Any time that we inhale particles, or particulate matter or any small particles into our lungs, we know that it will have an effect on our lungs,” said Hubick.
She added that the association doesn’t know how much an impact that would be, when it comes to e-cigs.
Churchman admitted that the future of the e-cig industry is uncertain; however he says he’s seen firsthand how the product has helped his customers quit smoking conventional cigarettes, including one regular buyer.
“Pretty much since the day I opened he has not touched a cigarette since,” said Churchman of the customer.
“He’s saved countless amounts of money; he spends 15 bucks a week, 50 dollar start up cost, compared to 15 bucks a day smoking a pack a day.”
Comments