A companion to this bill has passed the House, and it should be voted on in the Senate without delay. This bipartisan bill would put in place regulations identical to those faced by online tobacco retailors. Studies show that one of the easiest ways for underage users to purchase e-cigarettes is online where there is no proactive verification that buyers meet age verification requirements. I led a group of senators last year in introducing a bill to require online sales of e-cigarettes to meet the same requirements as traditional cigarettes, including age verification at time of purchase and delivery. Manufacturers of these devices aren’t subject to the same safety standards as other tobacco products, and that needs to change. And there is scant evidence to suggest that smokers end their nicotine addiction by switching from cigarettes.ĭespite the rapid spread of these devices and the recent spike in deaths and illness attributed to their use, there is a shocking lack of regulation on the use and distribution of e-cigarettes. The most commonly used brand among minors, Juul, has the same amount of nicotine in one cartridge as 20 cigarettes. But most e-cigarettes also contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and harmful to developing brains. That’s because a common misconception among teens is that e-cigarettes contain only flavoring and are not harmful to their health. Despite a 70% decline in the use of cigarettes among high school students since 1997, the use of tobacco products overall has not noticeably declined in recent years because of e-cigarettes. The rate at which teens are adopting e-cigarettes is dramatic. But to curb youth vaping nationwide, these issues must be addressed by Congress. San Francisco has already moved to ban e-cigarettes, and the state is also contemplating a flavor ban. Two reasons for this trend are the easy access to vaping products and the prevalence of flavored vaping products like root beer float, cotton candy and gummy bear that appeal to children. That’s nearly double the 18% who were vaping just two years ago, an incredible increase over such a short period.Īt the same time, the number of youth who smoke traditional cigarettes continues to decline. Originally published in the San Francisco ChronicleĪccording to research published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine, 35% of all high school seniors had vaped over the previous year.
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