From British Columbia to New Brunswick, electronic cigarettes have stirred up political debate and controversy.

While these might look like a blessing for those trying to quit smoking, they may also be the start of a dangerous trend amongst Canadian youth. The product remains unregulated and available to all ages, leaving myself, as well as healthcare officials across the nation, wondering when and if the government will intervene.

Despite the novelty of e-cigarettes, disturbing stories are emerging of how this product may affect children. This winter, an 11-year old South Delta boy purchased an e-cigarette at a local store. His parents were horrified to find the boy as he tried to blow smoke rings with it at home. After the boy’s father attempted to return the product, he was denied a refund on the grounds that the store owner did not violate any provincial regulations.

A bit shocking, no? Since there are currently no restrictions on this product, vendors have been offering the inherently adult product to children. These vapour-producing cigarettes appeal to youth as they come in a variety of kid-friendly flavours (such as grape and cherry), and they can be purchased at any local drugstore.

By making this product available to youth, we may open the door to a revived smoking culture.

Since e-cigarettes legally cannot contain nicotine, they were deemed harmless when they first hit the shelves. However, this is a premature conception of the potential dangers associated with the trend.

After years of anti-smoking campaigns, the world began to see a decrease in its smoking population. This happened because kids were educated about smoking; from an early age, adults started warning of the dangers of nicotine and smoke.

Now, after all this progress, we risk seeing a reversal in the way kids view cigarettes.

With every innovation comes a trial period where you learn how society adapts to the product. E-cigarettes present a slippery slope that may lead from fun flavours to tobacco. They look like real cigarettes, and are held like cigarettes — what’s to stop young people from experimenting with tobacco after doing so with e-cigs? By making this product available to youth, we may actually desensitize the next generation and open the door to a revived smoking culture.

Seeing these products used outside of their intended purpose — to help people quit smoking — makes me wonder whether they will lead to a generational movement towards a world where “lighting up” is a social norm. Although e-cigarettes have the potential to help smokers quit, the government should hastily intervene and restrict them as 19+ products.