in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 12 ,2 02 0 | 18 ON NOW AT THE BRICK! SAVING YOU MORE For more details go instore or online @thebrick.com. 160 BRONTE RD AM ICA .C A / BRONTEH A R BOUR IT ' S A BIG MOVE. A TOUR MIGHT HELP. Let us show you our premium amenities and tastefully appointed suites. Please ask our dedicated team any questions you have about senior living at Amica. PR I VATE TOUR S AVA I L A BLE905 -842 -8167 Young people putting their health at risk by us- ing vaping products is an issue I am very concerned about. Parents are asking me what action the govern- ment is going to take about vaping. We don't yet fully know vaping's health ef- fects but early studies show vaping can lead to a greater likelihood of tobacco use -- and we know the negative health effects of smoking. It is illegal to sell a va- pour product to someone under 19 in Ontario, but our government is doing more to keep vaping prod- ucts away from teens. Health Minister Christine Elliott has proposed new rules that would restrict flavoured and high-nico- tine vape products to spe- cialty vape stores, which are only open to those 19 and over. We will also work with online retailers to enforce age restrictions for online sales and require that dis- plays in vape stores are not visible from the outside. Mental health and ad- diction services will be ex- panded to include vaping and nicotine addiction, and Telehealth Ontario will of- fer one number for people trying to quit. A 2019 survey by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that vaping use by youth had doubled in two years. Twenty-three per cent of students in Grades 7-12 in the survey had tried a vap- ing product in the past year and one-in-eight students were vaping weekly or dai- ly. These numbers are alarming to me and to many parents. Many young people do not under- stand the addictive nature of nicotine -- or its nega- tive health effects. Most now recognize that ciga- rettes are unhealthy, but have not yet understood the dangers of vaping. We are gathering more evidence on the effects of vaping and last September the minister of health di- rected hospitals to provide the government with sta- tistical information related to the incidence of vaping- related severe pulmonary disease. Our government has al- so called on the federal gov- ernment to implement a national tax on vaping products. Heart and Stroke Ontario has recommended that Ottawa impose a tax and its chair has said they have had many opportuni- ties to lead, but " ... so far, they have not delivered." It's important that par- ents find out more about the dangers of vaping and talk to their teens about it. You can find out more about the risks of vaping at ontario.ca/page/risks- vaping. Effie Triantafilopoulos is the MPP for Oakville North-Burlington. OPINION YOUTH VAPING A MAJOR CONCERN HERE IS WHAT THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT IS DOING TO SAFEGUARD OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, WRITES EFFIE TRIANTAFILOPOULOS EFFIE TRIANTAFIL- OPOULOS Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM