A local professor is cautioning about the use of e-cigarettes.

Dr. Leslie Philips is the director of a smoking cessation program at Memorial University. While a safer alternative to smoking, Philips says vaping is not necessarily safe.

Health Canada has issued a warning to people who vape to watch for symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath and chest pain, while US health officials have identified more than 800 confirmed and probable cases of serious lung illnesses linked to vaping.

Philips told VOCM Morning Show co-host Fred Hutton that switching to vaping is safer for a smoker who is trying to quit, but “safe” and safer are two very different things.

She says vaping is normalizing smoking and increasing the addiction to nicotine. She says nicotine salt has a lower pH than regular nicotine and allows a smoother hit on the back of the throat. That means users can inhale more nicotine than they would be able to tolerate otherwise.

Dr. Philips says Juul, a popular product in the US, delivers the equivalent of 42 mg of nicotine – equivalent to two packs of cigarettes – in a single pod.

Another product delivers even more. A pod of V-Pro delivers 108 mg in a pod – equivalent to 5 packs of cigarettes – and some people are vaping a pod or more a day.

Philips is working with the Alliance for the Control of Tobacco on an information campaign for students, parents and teachers in the schools.