Youth Vaping at Historic Lows: Why Vaping Is Canada's Path to a Smoke-Free Future
Ottawa, ON, May 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This Saturday, May 30th, we celebrate World Vape Day 2026 and the 80 million adults around the world who made a life-changing decision by transitioning from combustible cigarettes to vaping. These individuals have stepped away from a product that claims more than 8 million lives annually through tobacco-related illness. That is not a small thing. That is a public health movement.
Here in Canada, more than 1.9 million adults are vaping and smoking rates continue to fall. Now is the moment to support the policies and conditions that can carry Canada across the finish line to a truly smoke-free future.
Yet some of Canada's most prominent health organizations and various tobacco control groups continue to push for sweeping federal flavour bans on vaping products. Their case rests on claims that youth vaping in Canada is at crisis levels and amongst the highest in the world.
The data tells a different story; according to the latest figures from Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, past-30-day vaping among youth aged 12 to 17 has fallen from its peak of 13.2% in 2019 to 5.8% in 2024 — a decrease of nearly 60%. This was published on May 20, 2026, in the most recent report of the Third Legislative Review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act.
“This is exactly the kind of progress public policy is meant to achieve,” said Sam Tam, President of the Canadian Vaping Association. “Youth vaping must continue to decline, but policy must be guided by current evidence, not outdated statistics, cherry-picked data, or moral panic.”
What these organizations consistently overlook is the important role vaping has played in helping adult Canadians quit smoking. Two newly published studies add to the growing body of evidence supporting tobacco harm reduction, finding that nicotine vaping products may help adults quit smoking. These findings reinforce the importance of evidence-based regulation that balances youth prevention with adult access to less harmful alternatives.
Canada's target of reaching a less than 5% smoking rate by 2035 will not be achievable if adults are denied the flavour options that keep them away from cigarettes. Equally ignored are the very real consequences of prohibition, including a thriving illicit market that undermines legal businesses, erosion of tax revenues, and stretching government enforcement resources to their limits while empowering organized crime.
This Sunday, May 31st, we also mark World No Tobacco Day, a global call to action for the 1.2 billion people still smoking. For those who have tried and exhausted other cessation options, vaping represents a meaningful, proven path to reducing the harm caused by combustible tobacco.
Canada must remain a country where that choice is available, accessible, and supported.
Sam Tam The Canadian Vaping Association stam@thecva.org Ashley Bouman The Canadian Vaping Association abouman@thecva.org
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
