Cannabis vaping: Understanding the health risks of a rapidly emerging trend

Abstract

The rapid emergence of youth vaping has completely changed the landscape of adolescent substance use in Canada and has become a pressing public health issue of our time. While nicotine remains the most common substance encountered in vaping devices, cannabis vaping is now reported by one-third of youth who vape. Though cannabis vaping is thought to generate fewer toxic emissions than cannabis smoking, it has been associated with several cases of acute lung injury and often involves high-potency forms of cannabis, exposing youth to several acute and long-term health risks. The low perceived riskiness of cannabis as a substance and of vaping as a mode of consumption may bring a false sense of security and be particularly appealing for youth who may be looking for a 'healthier way' to use substances. While research is still lacking on how best to support youth who may have already initiated cannabis vaping, concerted efforts among paediatric providers, public health experts, schools, communities, and families are urgently needed to limit the spread of cannabis vaping among Canadian youth.

Keywords: Adolescent; Cannabis; Health risk behavior; Injury; Substance related disorder; Vaping.

Figure 1.

Examples of cannabis vaping devices and their different parts. Some models of vaping devices for use with (a) ground marijuana head tops; (b) cannabis wax (butane honey oil [BHO] concentrate), or (c) cannabis e-liquid. The letters a, b, or c after the numbers indicate the parts of the vaping devices used for herb, BHO, or e-liquid vaping, respectively. 1. Mega electronic cigarette (e-cig) with dual-coil clearomizer, adjustable airflow control ring, changeable resistance coils and high capacity, variable voltage battery. 2–7. Dry herb and wax vaporizer: 2. Spring-loaded mouthpiece; 3. Vaporizer chamber; 4. Dry herb coil head; 5. Wax coil head; 6. Detachable base with air holes; 7. Medium capacity battery. 8–10. See-through clearomizer for e-liquids: 8. Clearomizer tip; 9. Clearomizer tube; 10. Clearomizer coil and four-wick head with base assembly. 11–14. Glass-globe atomizer wax tank: 11. Drip tip; 12. Glass globe; 13. Ceramic heating chamber and coil; 14. Metal core. 15–19. Dry herb atomizer: 15. Soft drip tip (mouthpiece); 16. Ceramic screen; 17. Metal screen and spring; 18. Screens connector; 19. Ceramic chamber and battery connector. 20. Medium size battery. 21–22. Wax coil head atomizer: 21. Metal mouthpiece and wax coil chamber connector; 22. Wax coil ceramic chamber and battery connector. 23–25. Clearomizer for e-liquids: 23. Shell (mouthpiece attached to metal tank with viewing window); 24. Bottom head changeable coil assembly; 25. Battery base connector. a. Marijuana head tops, b. Cannabis BHO concentrate, c. Cannabis e-liquid (mixture of cannabinoid concentrates (cannabis wax), propylene glycol and glycerol). Source: see ref. (40).