AS global reports continue to show occurrences of severe lung complications in young adults linked to vaping, Jamaica’s health authorities are pledging to step up their efforts to prevent a similar crisis at home.

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has confirmed that the Government is moving to strengthen control measures around vaping, with new legislation soon to be tabled in Parliament.

This comes after Dr Tufton lobbied to successfully ban the use of e-cigarettes among minors due to great concern surrounding the use, accessibility, and potential harm of vaping devices to children and adolescents.

However, the health minister acknowledged that legislation to lessen the use of these products among the adult populace of Jamaica was equally important, especially as more cases globally are showing lung complications — including pneumothorax, EVALI, and popcorn lungs as results of long-term usage of e-cigarettes.

According the American Lung Association, pneumothorax, also called ‘collapsed lungs’, occurs when air leaks into the space between the lungs and chest wall. This air pushes on the outside of the lung and makes it collapse.

Additionally, it says e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury, or EVALI, is an acute or sub-acute respiratory illness and can be fatal. The illness usually sees up to 50 per cent of patients requiring admission to an intensive care unit.

Furthermore bronchiolitis obliterans, more commonly referred to as ‘popcorn lung’, occurs after repeated exposure to a harmful chemical, if inhaled, called diacetyl. This is often found in e-cigarettes, and results in the scarring of the tiny air sacs in the lungs resulting in the thickening and narrowing of the airways.

The comprehensive Tobacco Control Bill, according to Tufton, will prioritise highlighting the use of e-cigarettes as equally dangerous to traditional modes of smoking; stricter regulations on advertising and promotion, particularly targeting youth; as well as new penalties for violations.

“We are taking steps to recognise vaping as equally deleterious to the health of Jamaicans and those who use it,” said Tufton.

“Once that [Tobacco Control Bill] goes to the Parliament, you will see the elements of that, which essentially classifies these new and emerging approaches to smoking as equally dangerous and with the appropriate restrictions on those, and the promotion to young people and advertising, and all of that. Of course, smoking for young people is banned totally and there are certain other steps that the legislation will bring that will create further restrictions, and also penalties that will deter those who may be tempted so to do,” he said.

Meanwhile, director of treatment services at the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) Dr Kristen Robinson-Barrett said that while local cases of vaping-related illness remain low, the agency is not taking any chances.

Dr Robinson-Barrett and Tufton were guests at this week’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange, held at the newspaper’s Beechwood Avenue offices.

“Of the 200 persons that were seen last month, only one case came in for vaping that was coming in for counselling. But we know that far more of them are using it than you know, so I think what the focus is going to be on is that we educate very heavily on cannabis use and to increase the discussion around vaping,” said Dr Robinson-Barrett.

She also divulged that the NCDA would be expanding its high school outreach programme to include more focused discussions on vaping. The goal, she said, is to keep usage rates down and awareness high.

“At the moment, as I said, our numbers are not extremely high when it comes to crisis situations with it [vaping]. Even medically, I don’t hear a lot of it. So we’re not in a terrible standing, but we’re going to try and keep it down by increasing the ongoing education,” she said.

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TUFTON…we are taking steps to recognise vaping as equally deleterious to the health of Jamaicans and those who use itGarfield Robinson

ROBINSON-BARRETT…we’re not in a terrible standing, but we’re going to try and keep it down by increasing the ongoing education (Photo: Garfield Robinson)