Youth vaping is quickly becoming a complex issue in Slave Lake, blending peer pressures with mental health struggles. As the trend grows rapidly, local organizations, law enforcement, and school officials are working hard to navigate the problem while also managing broader community needs and everyday summer safety concerns.
Christopher Noftall, the executive director of Rising Above Slave Lake, says the temptation of smoking is not a new phenomenon for teenagers, but modern devices, such as e-cigarettes, have drastically impacted the landscape of the highly addictive habit.
“Youth vaping is a mix of a social trend and a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety and depression,” Noftall says. “Smoking has always had that social attractiveness where all the cool kids do it. But vaping offers a new, easy way to smoke that is much more accessible. It is especially appealing because the different flavours hide the harshness of inhaling nicotine compared to traditional cigarettes.”
While taking a hit of nicotine does trigger a short-term release of dopamine in the brain that can temporarily ease feelings of anxiety, Noftall warns that the habit is incredibly deceptive and highly addictive.
“Nicotine only masks the underlying issues,” Noftall says. “Over time, it actually increases those original problems while causing very strong addiction and dependence issues.”
Instead of turning to a vape to handle stress, Rising Above Ministries strongly advocates for a variety of healthier, long-term coping strategies. These include prayer, meditation, regular exercise, proper nutrition, a good night of sleep, getting outside for nature exposure, professional therapy and counselling, and joining local sports teams.
In the classrooms, local educational authorities are implementing strict rules but are leaving any clinical or addiction interventions up to the healthcare professionals. Ross Hunter, the communications officer for Aspen View Public Schools, says the division does not have an expansive policy on the issue, but they do have strict rules.
“We do not have a division-wide approach to it, other than it being strictly prohibited on school property,” Hunter says. “If requested, students and their families are referred to resources available through Alberta Health and other agencies.”
The Lakeside Leader reached out to local Slave Lake businesses Bears Den Vapes Smoke and Vape, as well as Vapehub Cigar and Smokes, to ask questions regarding the local youth vaping trend. Both shops denied an interview.
For the RCMP, the response to youth vaping heavily relies on building community partnerships rather than just handing out immediate punishments to teenagers. Staff Sgt. Casey Bruyns, the detachment commander for the Slave Lake RCMP, says police work closely alongside local schools and community partners to make sure students actually understand the risks of what they are inhaling.
“We will enforce the law if individuals are found supplying vaping products to minors, but education and prevention remain our primary focus right now,” Bruyns says.
Beyond the specific issue of youth vaping, local support networks are feeling the heavy strain of major regional infrastructure challenges. Noftall says the ongoing shortage of doctors and healthcare professionals directly limits the physical and mental help that vulnerable youth and adults can access in the area.
Furthermore, the lack of local detox centres creates major, sometimes impossible, logistical hurdles. The closest facility is at least an hour away. This complicates things for participants seeking to join the Rising Above program, as the organization strictly requires seven days of sobriety prior to starting.
However, when asked about the most pressing need in the community right now, Noftall points directly to a severe lack of affordable housing.
“The prices to buy or rent a home in Slave Lake are outrageously inflated and completely out of reach for most people,” Noftall says. “Because housing is so hard to obtain and expensive here, we cannot even offer the sober living, residential portion of our program to participants. Without that housing, many people are blocked from entering our program to get the help they desperately need.”
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter