Teenagers on the Island were recently taught the dangers of watermelon, bubblegum and gummy bears.

E-cigarettes are offered in those flavours — Damian O’Hara believes it’s a deliberate attempt to sell them to children.

He travels the world to get people to stop smoking traditional cigarettes using Allan Carr’s Easyway method. It’s been proven to help millions get rid of their addiction.

According to Mr O’Hara, e-cigarettes are also dangerous — especially for young people.

“I see today exactly what was happening with tobacco in the 1980s, 1990s is happening with e-cigarettes,” Mr O’Hara said. “I accept that they are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes, but they are extremely addictive.”

E-cigarettes come as a narrow, metal canister containing liquid nicotine. The liquid is gently heated to produce a vapour that is inhaled.

Addiction experts Jack Henningfield and Neal Benowitz have proven that nicotine is more addictive than heroin, Mr O’Hara said.

“They’ve got Bazooka Joe, Juicy Fruit and gummy bear flavoured e-cigarettes. You can’t see the word addiction anywhere on the packaging. Young kids are out there thinking they can stop anytime they want, but nicotine works into the pathways of their brain.

“What ends up happening is nicotine hijacks the dopamine levels in the brain. Kids are being sold all the benefits of using nicotine — there’s no bad smell, there’s no health risk, it tastes like candy — but in a developing human’s brain, sometimes two doses is enough to create an addiction.”

The Toronto resident spoke with about 200 students at Bermuda High School for Girls and Somersfield Academy as part of a smoking prevention campaign organised by BF&M and Open Airways. He said he was surprised to discover the teenagers knew as much as they did about e-cigarettes.

“I was very alarmed at the obvious amounts of knowledge some of the young kids had at 13, 14, about the product,” he said. “They’d certainly been exposed to the marketing. It’s all over TV on programmes aimed at young people — VH1, The Bachelor.

“When I look at the programming they’re buying it’s very obvious they’re aimed at under-18s. I have teenage girls myself and I’m absolutely stunned at the lack of regulation, the promotion aimed at young people with e-cigarettes.”

Mr O’Hara was once a heavy smoker. He marketed tobacco to the masses in his role as an advertising executive.

“I worked at big ad agencies with tobacco clients,” he said. “All they wanted to do was get young people smoking. After I extricated myself from that job, I made a commitment to try and prevent young people from falling into it in the first place.

“Today, I help people quit smoking. I was very supportive of e-cigarettes when they were first launched because they were launched as smoking cessation products.

“You could get all the nicotine you wanted without the tar. I changed my view.

“Research showed the cessations rate is absolutely pathetic — about seven per cent. You end up with dual use. It had a lot of potential but it morphed into an entry-level drug for young adults.

“At the end of the day it comes to [the tobacco companies] receiving thousands of dollars year after year. Gummy bear flavoured e-cigarettes are clearly aimed at young children.

“My fear is it’s an entry-level drug. It’s clear that tobacco companies are transitioning young people from e-cigarettes to cigarettes, otherwise why would they get into the business?”