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While many use electronic cigarettes as an alternative to smoking, pharmacist Jenna Anderson believes flavoured vaporizers could be a gateway to nicotine dependency.

She points to a Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey done in 2013 that asked respondents about the nicotine content in e-cigarettes. Anderson noted that 19 per cent didn’t know if nicotine was in the product or not.

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“That’s concerning because you’re now exposing people who didn’t have previous nicotine dependency to nicotine, so you’re increasing that risk of dependency, and therefore it’s reasonable that you could consider those products a gateway to smoking,” Anderson said.

As a PACT pharmacist (Partnership to Assist with Cessation of Tobacco) at a Safeway pharmacy in Saskatoon, Anderson is trained to help people quit smoking.

Given the many unknowns about vaping, including its effectiveness as a cessation tool and potential long-term side effects, she thinks it should be regulated.