Rising vaping rates among young adults may be undermining Canada’s long-standing goal of reducing smoking to 5% of the population by 2035, according to a federal health evaluation that also flags concerns about marijuana legalization and shifting public health priorities.Blacklock's Reporter says a Department of Health report reviewing tobacco and vaping control efforts between 2021 and 2025 found mixed progress in reducing nicotine use, noting that while cigarette smoking has remained relatively stable or declined, vaping has increased among Canadians aged 18 to 24.“Trends of smoking and vape use are mixed among young adults aged 18 to 24,” the report stated. “Cigarette smoking remained stable between 2020 and 2023. During the same time period, rates of vaping increased.”The evaluation said Canada may still be on track to meet its 2035 target, first established in 2018, but warned that increased regulatory focus on vaping could be drawing attention away from traditional smoking cessation efforts.“However some raised concerns that heightened regulatory and public health efforts on vaping may have diverted attention from traditional smoking cessation efforts,” the report said.Despite those concerns, overall tobacco use among adults continued to decline in recent years. The number of Canadians aged 18 and older using tobacco products — including cigarettes, cigars, pipes and smokeless tobacco — fell from 4.5 million to 4.3 million between 2020 and 2023, the report found.But researchers also pointed to the growing role of vaping and shifting substance-use patterns among youth and young adults..Health Canada’s approach has evolved significantly over the past decade, including earlier messaging that encouraged vaping as a harm-reduction tool for smokers. In 2018, the department supported advertising under a $1.25 million contract with News Canada Inc. that suggested vaping could offer health benefits for people trying to quit smoking.“One Thing Is Clear,” one 2019 Health Canada advertisement stated. “For people who smoke, vaping is less harmful than smoking.”Another campaign asked, “Is Vaping Bad For You?” and suggested there were short-term health improvements for smokers who switched completely to vaping products.Those ads were later withdrawn. By 2019, Health Canada acknowledged concern over rapidly rising youth vaping rates.“The Government of Canada is concerned with the rapid increase in vaping among Canadian youth,” a spokesperson said at the time.The new evaluation report also notes that tobacco policy cannot be viewed in isolation from broader substance-use trends, including cannabis.“Internal interviewees acknowledged the limitations of addressing tobacco use and vaping in isolation from other kinds of substance use,” it said..Separate federal research has found marijuana use is more common than tobacco smoking among postsecondary students, with one 2021 Public Health Agency survey reporting that 8% of students used cannabis daily and 33% used it monthly.A 2023 Health Canada report also raised concerns about the impact of legalization on youth behaviour, suggesting cannabis use has become more normalized among teenagers.“By normalizing cannabis use and making it more accessible, aspects of legalization are considered to have contributed to inducing consumption among youth,” the report stated.It added that some young people report first trying cannabis as early as age 13 or 14, often viewing it as a harmless recreational activity.
