“It’s the only thing that helped me quit cigarettes,” said Nick, 40, who started vaping as an alternative to smoking. Nick — who didn’t want his last name used — said he started smoking when he was 14, but took up vaping more than five years ago and has not smoked cigarettes since.

“I found a noticeable increase in my health, my lung capacity, my endurance, my breath, everything since I switched to electronic cigarettes,” he said. “I’ve tried the pills, I’ve tried the patch, this is the one and only thing that has helped.”

Dryden Bedard, a third-year student at the University of Ottawa, said he has been vaping since May 2019. “I’ve almost quit now,” said Bedard. “I went down from 50 milligrams of nicotine and I am currently at 35. I am hoping to quit all the way down to zero by December or the New Year.”

But health officials are concerned that young people may be attracted to vaping in part because of the diversity of flavors available. According to the Canadian Tobacco Alcohol and Drugs Survey, fruit-based flavors are by far the most popular.