Ontario pilot targets vaping in schools

Six Ontario school boards will pilot a new anti-vaping program that will be rolled out across the province this fall at the same time the provincial government mandates a firm ban on such products in schools or on school property.

- KRISTIN RUSHOWY

It's a campaign to really bring awareness to the effects of nicotine and vaping, and really to offer support for kids to stop vaping.

With Canada recording one of the highest rates of vaping among youth in the world, the awareness campaign and app to assist in quitting is one way to address and help curb the habit among teens, said Jessica Buckley, president and CEO of the Lung Health Foundation.

“We could see the trends on youth vaping starting to go in the wrong direction,” she said. “About three years ago, with some funding from Health Canada, we developed the Quash program” to help teens quit.