Vaping has become the new face of nicotine addiction — and it’s reaching kids younger than ever.

“It’s exploding,” said Caroline Le Clair, a dietitian with the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority’s Community Wellness Team. “We’re not really seeing youth smoke anymore, they’re turning to vaping as their first introduction to nicotine.”

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Originally marketed as a tool to help smokers quit, vaping has evolved into a habit embraced by a generation that may never have touched a cigarette. “About 69% of youth who’ve vaped in the last 30 days have never smoked a tobacco cigarette,” Le Clair said. “They’re not switching from cigarettes, they’re starting with vaping.”

Le Clair said one of the biggest challenges is the illusion that vaping is safe. Sweet-smelling flavour

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