Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are a type of nicotine delivery system that consists of a cartridge that contains a liquid, an atomizer (heating element), and a battery. Commonly used liquids contain various substances, including nicotine, cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), flavoring, and additives such as glycerol and propylene glycol.[1] Use of these aerosolized devices (colloquially termed vaping) has risen substantially among the Canadian population, in particular among younger individuals.

Alcohol is the most frequently used intoxicating substance in the world and is responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality.[1] Numerous resources have been committed to managing health issues related to marijuana and opioid use, but in Canada, alcohol use continues to have a much greater societal and economic impact than all illegal drugs combined.[2] Alcohol is legal, highly available, and more socially accepted than other intoxicating substances.

A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was first identified in December 2019 and resulted in cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China.[1] Since then, SARS-CoV-2 has spread rapidly around the globe. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.[2] As of 6 September 2020, more than 27 million people worldwide have been infected and more than 900 000 have died.[3]

British Columbia uses data and analytics to inform its response for tackling COVID-19. Mathematical modeling is one of the tools in our response. Mathematical modeling of infectious diseases allows us to study the spread of an epidemic and understand the potential impact of interventions. BC has been using mathematical modeling to illustrate what could happen to case counts under different conditions. Following are some examples of mathematical modeling of COVID-19 in BC.

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Background

Dermatology cases made up approximately 3.3% of all cases that presented to the emergency room (ER) in an Ontario study.[1] The most common skin presentations were skin infections, of which cellulitis was the most prevalent.[1,2] A US study found that 9.01% of adult dermatology cases that presented to the ER were diagnosed as “rash and other nonspecific eruption.”[2] Thus far, these types of statistics have not been reported for BC or Canada.