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Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili is worried to hear more teens are vaping in Canada, and he’s calling on the provincial government to crack down on e-cigarettes.

He cited a study from the British Medical Journal that showed a bump in the use of vaping products by Canadian youth age 16-19. His party sent a letter this week calling on the province to regulate vaping in much the same way it does tobacco.

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“It’s absolute madness that something that was designed to help people quit smoking is actually turning into a way for big tobacco companies to get people hooked on their product again,” Meili said.

“We need to treat vaping like smoking. That means stopping the advertising in public, putting the products behind the counter and behind a screen, as we do with cigarettes.”

Beyond regulation, Meili also floated the idea of having an excise tax on vaping products, similar to that already in place for cigarettes. He said that could discourage use and raise money for public health.