The local health unit will soon consider options to control the sale and distribution of vaping products and e-cigarettes.
In the wake of increased reports on illness and even death related to the use of vaping products, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit agreed to consider a resolution next month on regulating, and even banning, the sale of such items.
The resolution was brought up by health unit board Chairman Gary McNamara during the board's monthly meeting Thursday afternoon. Chairing the meeting via phone, McNamara, who is also the Essex County warden and Tecumseh mayor, said he was very interested in putting some kind of control in on the sale of e-cigarettes and vaping implements, especially in light of a report out of London stating that a teen had been hospitalized for a serious lung condition attributed to vaping.
While the board wants to use the time before the October meeting to weigh all options and come up with an optimum solution, the health unit's medical officer of health, Dr. Wajid Ahmed, told BlackburnNewsWindsor.com Thursday that they want to do their due diligence when it comes to any policy concerning public health.
"We definitely understand the risks of vaping," said Ahmed. "We would want to make sure that we advocate and support a ban on those devices, which is targeting the youth."
Ahmed said he is well aware of the situation in London, but it is too soon to tell if any such illnesses have been reported in Windsor-Essex.
"The Ministry [of Health]'s new direction with respect to the reporting purposes, maybe that will bring in some attention to our physicians in the area to look out for that, but so far, we haven't found anything," said Ahmed.
Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliott asked all public health units this week to take a proactive approach in reporting illnesses caused by vaping.
"I have become increasingly concerned about the prevalence and possible health consequences of vaping, particularly as they affect our youth," said Elliott on Wednesday. "At the same time, it has become abundantly clear that we do not have access to sufficient data and information to understand the potential scope of this issue."
Ahmed previously told the newsroom that the new reporting system will help physicians find more effective ways to treat any health problems caused by vaping.
-With files from Maureen Revait