The draw of nicotine: With rise in youth vaping, history repeats itself

By Andy Riga, with comments from Nicholas Chadi The Montreal Gazette, Sunday December 15, 2019

E-cigarettes are on the market ostensibly to help smokers quit tobacco, but Quebec teens are getting addicted at an alarming rate. Nicholas Chadi treats a new generation of nicotine addicts: children hooked on vaping.

“One pre-filled (vaping) cartridge — the type kids use most of the time — contains nicotine equivalent of one to two packs of cigarettes,” said Chadi, a pediatrician and addiction specialist at Ste-Justine Hospital.

“So one little cartridge that’s the size of your thumbnail can contain as much nicotine as 20 to 40 cigarettes, and some (teenagers) are going through one or two or even three or four of those pods a day.”

Nicotine is the substance that makes smoking so addictive. Ironically, teens are getting addicted to it via a tool ostensibly on the market to help smokers quit tobacco. Read more