The provincial government has announced that they are taking steps to monitor for vaping related illness, in response to a spate of pulmonary illness being seen in the United States and Ontario over the past 30 days.

Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, explained a notification was sent to Intensive Care Units across the province, telling them they need to report all cases of severe respiratory illness to the local medical health officer.

“So far we are not aware of any such instances, but going forward we will be requesting ICU’s to report all cases similar to ones which have been seen in the U.S.,” explained Dr. Shahab.

“Ultimately in Canada, we want all such cases to be reported to the Chief Medical Health Officer of Canada.”

In a written statement issued earlier in the day, Health Minister Jim Reiter urged parents to talk to their children about the risks of vaping. As well, all members who have questions about non-severe symptoms associated with vaping to contact their health care providers.