A majority of Canadians support a temporary ban on e-cigarettes following a rise in serious lung damage, a new poll suggests.

The Research Co. survey found 74 per cent of those polled would agree with their province implementing a temporary ban on vaping products like a controversial one that has been implemented in Massachusetts.

Health agencies in North America are investigating the potential harms caused by vaping following a mysterious lung illness related to e-cigarettes.

More than 2,000 Americans who vape have gotten sick since March, many of them teens and young adults, and at least 40 people have died. There have also been cases confirmed in Canada, and one confirmed case in B.C. with more under investigation.

Support for a temporary ban on all vaping products is high across all regions of the country, including in B.C., where nearly half of respondents (49 per cent) strongly agree with a temporary ban, while 24 per cent moderately agree with the idea.

Conversely, B.C. also reported the highest number of people who have used a vaping product, with 16 per cent saying they have used e-cigarettes, followed by Saskatchewan and Manitoba at 13 per cent.

A strong majority (85 per cent) want vaping products that contain nicotine to display a warning, similar to the one used for tobacco products, while just over half (57 per cent) want all flavoured vaping products to be banned.

The survey of 1,000 adults was conducted from Oct. 21 to Oct. 23. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Meantime, Canadian health officials say they are closely monitoring an apparent U.S. breakthrough into the cause of the vaping illness.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they have a “very strong culprit” in a chemical compound known as vitamin E acetate.

Health Canada spokesman Eric Morissette has noted that vitamin E acetate is not allowed in Canadian cannabis vaping products.