Vaping has become a popular trend over the past several years. It’s become popular amongst the adults it's designed for but has seen a significant rise amongst Alberta's youth population, and Airdrie is seeing the rise as well. 

According to new numbers from the Minister of Health and the Minister for Mental Health and Addiction, one in three Albertans aged 15-19 are now vaping. 

This brings the total number of young Albertans vaping to 35 per cent.  

Rocky View Schools is also aware of the rise of students vaping in local schools; while the numbers aren't known, they are working to combat it.

“We are aware of the increase among youth and work with our school administration to support school-based responses. The health and safety of our students are at the heart of everything we do, and our students will continue to have support available at school to support their learning and overall well-being,” said Rocky View Schools in a statement.

With such a drastic rise in numbers, the Government of Alberta introduced the new Tobacco and Vaping Reduction Strategy. This builds upon the government's previous Tobacco Free Futures strategy from 2012. 

“This significant reduction of smoking deserves recognition and gratitude to our health and community partners who have worked tirelessly with us to achieve this progress and who have played a pivotal role in shaping the strategy. Congratulations to each Albertan who has made the choice to either quit smoking or make the proactive decision not to start in the first place. We have made great strides, but there is more work to be done, especially in our vaping reduction strategy,” said Minister of Health Adriana Lagrange. 

The previous strategy led to a decrease from 18.4 per cent to 11.5 per cent in Alberta's overall smoking rate and they hope to do more with their new plan.

The new strategy will include steps such as initiating a new public education campaign aimed at youth and introducing new instructions to online retailers to limit the sale of vaping products to youth. 

Parents are advised to research and prevent vape usage with their children, when possible, as the long-term effects on the health of youth as well as adults remain unknown. 

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