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3 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,F ebruary 6,2020 theifp.ca A north Halton retailer is trying to set the record straight on an industry he said he feels is misunder- stood. Karim Khwaja, CEO of Dragon Vapes, owns seven specialty vape stores across Canada, including two in Halton Region -- in Georgetown and Milton. Spurred by recent na- tional media coverage, Khwaja said he feels youth uptake in vaping and deaths related to vaping have unfairly targeted spe- cialty vape stores. "Yes, people have died," Khwaja said, "and yes, there is an uptake in youth vaping." But so far, the only re- ported deaths related to vape products are linked to illegal cannabis prod- ucts that contain vitamin E acetate. "When vaped, it creates a layer of fat around your lungs," he said, adding that legally produced vapour products, however, are wa- ter-soluble unlike fats like vitamin E acetate. Because of the alarming coverage, Khwaja said cus- tomers are returning to cigarettes. "Health Canada says vaping is less harmful than smoking. Nobody in the in- dustry is saying vaping isn't harmful," Khwaja said. According to the Halton Region Health Depart- ment, no deaths or illness- es related to vaping have been reported. In 2016, one in six adults smoked in Halton, and lung cancer was the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among men and women in living in the re- gion. However, a growing public health concern in the region is an increase in vaping among youths. "Kids shouldn't be vap- ing, period," Khwaja said. But Khwaja said he doesn't think specialty stores, like his, are to blame. "I'll take my daughter into a gas station and right at the counter you'll see e- cigarettes," Khwaja said. "I smoked for 19 years. I bought all of my cigarettes at a gas station." In 2018, the region con- ducted focus group with Halton youth regarding vaping. Youths reported feeling that vaping prod- ucts were easily accessible in Halton from conve- nience stores, gas stations, and online. While only three infrac- tions were issued to gas sta- tions in 2019 for sale to mi- nors, one for tobacco and two for vape products, nine infractions were issued to specialty vape shops. "Vape shops are regulat- ed by the provincial Smoke-Free Ontario Act (SFOA)," said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, medical officer of health and commission- er of the Halton Region Health Department. "In Halton Region, the SFOA is enforced by public health inspectors." While vaping product retailers are inspected an- nually, additional inspec- tions may be done in re- sponse to complaints. "Currently, there are no limitations to how close a vaping product retailer can be to a school," Meghani said. "However, under the SFOA, vaping is prohibited in schools, on school grounds, and any public ar- ea within 20 metres of school grounds." On Jan. 1, a ban on the promotion of vaping prod- ucts in non-specialty retail stores came into effect. "However, this restric- tion does not address the advertisement of vaping products in other public places, such as billboards and on public transit," Meghani said. New regulations have been proposed at the feder- al level that would further restrict advertising but has yet to come into effect. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Following up with a resident from a local Facebook group, we took the concerns of vape prod- uct retailers to the health department. NEWS STORE OWNER WANTS TO SET RECORD STRAIGHT ON VAPING BRYAN MYERS bmyers@metroland.com Karim Khwaja, CEO of Dragon Vapes, shows some of the labelling requirements for e-liquid products used in vapes. Bryan Myers/Torstar