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Tag: flavored vape products

  • What Vaping Statistics Tell Us About The New Epidemic

    What Vaping Statistics Tell Us About The New Epidemic

    The statistics highlight just how popular the smoking trend is among adolescents and young adults. 

    Vaping has recently become headline news, as the national scrambles to figure out the cause of vaping-related illnesses that have killed 18 people as of Thursday (Oct. 3). Looking at the numbers around vaping can help people understand the issue. Here are some things to consider:

    Vaping is relatively rare among adults

    Although everyone seems to have an opinion on vaping, not too many adults are actually using e-cigarettes. According to the Truth Initiative, 4.2% of adults ages 25 to 44 were using e-cigarettes in 2016. That was an increase from 2013, when just 2.4% of adults were using them, but is still a relatively low rate.

    Most adults who use e-cigarettes are doing so to replace traditional tobacco products. Nearly 59% of adult users said they smoked both traditional and electronic cigarettes in 2015. An additional 30% of adult users were previous smokers, and just 11.4% of adult e-cigarette users had never smoked cigarettes.

    Vaping is very popular among teens, young adults

    Unfortunately, vaping has become super popular among teens and young adults, many of whom have never used traditional cigarettes. Although it’s illegal for people younger than 18 (or in some states, 21) to purchase or use vape products, 40% of 12th-graders surveyed in 2019 reported that they’ve used nicotine vapes, according to U.S. News and World Report.

    More than a quarter reported using nicotine vapes within the past 30 days. That’s a massive rise from 2017, when just 13% of 12th-graders had used vapes within the past month. Now, 12% of high school seniors say they use nicotine vapes every day.

    Unlike adult users, who seem to use e-cigarettes to replace traditional nicotine products, young people are using e-cigs as their first exposure to nicotine. Experts are concerned that teens who otherwise would not get hooked on nicotine are becoming dependent on it because of their vape use. For example, in 2018, 7.6% of high school seniors had smoked a cigarette within the past month, but 26.7% had used a vape, according to the Monitoring the Future survey.

    In adults, it’s associated with tobacco use

    Data shows that states with higher rates of tobacco use also have higher rates of e-cigarette use. For example, Kentucky had some of the highest smoking rates, with 24.6% of adults using traditional cigarettes in 2017 and 6.1% using vapes. In California, where just 11.3% of adults smoke tobacco, just 3% used vapes.

    The adult use trends are uneven. In fact, half of the states saw adult vaping rates decrease from between 2016 and 2017, while half saw an increase in adult use. Despite this, teen and young adult vaping rates continue to rise across the board.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • New York Bans Flavored Vape Products  

    New York Bans Flavored Vape Products  

    New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says that flavored vaping products, which range from cotton candy to fruit flavors, target teens.

    In hopes of stemming the use of vape products among high schoolers, New York State has banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes on Wednesday (Sept. 18). 

    The ban, which takes effect immediately, makes it illegal to sell vapes that have flavors other than tobacco or menthol. All other flavors need to be removed from stores within two weeks, Time reported. 

    Targeting Teens

    In New York, 27% of high schoolers and 40% of high school seniors use e-cigarettes. Flavored products, which range from cotton candy to fruit flavors, target teens, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Sunday, when he proposed the ban. 

    He said, “These are obviously targeted to young people and highly effective at targeting young people.”

    The state Public Health and Health Planning Council approved the ban on Wednesday. 

    Regulating Vaping

    Lawmakers across the country are scrambling to regulate use of vapes, especially among teenagers. Although sale of e-cigarettes is limited to people 18 and older, the use of vapes among high school students has skyrocketed.

    Officials say this is driven by the promotion of flavored products. With a recent spate of lung disease, and several deaths, linked to vape use, officials have become even more concerned. 

    Last week the Trump administration announced that it had plans to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. 

    Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement, “The Trump administration is making it clear that we intend to clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes to reverse the deeply concerning epidemic of youth e-cigarette use that is impacting children, families, schools and communities.”

    Prior to that, on September 3, Michigan became the first state to ban the sale of flavored vape products, but the new policy has yet to take effect. “My number one priority is keeping our kids safe and protecting the health of the people of Michigan,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said at the time. 

    Although there is clearly a public health concern, people who sell vapes say that lawmakers are overstepping. Some of them are even considering a legal challenge to the new bans, said Mike Kruger, who owns an Albany, New York vape shop. 

    “We are bypassing the legislative process,” Kruger said. “Vaping has been around for 12 years. And now this.”

    However, the e-cigarette manufacturer Juul, which dominates the vape market, has said that it will comply with regulations, and it recognizes the need to better control flavored products.

    “We strongly agree with the need for aggressive category-wide action on flavored products,” Juul spokesman Austin Finan said in response to the proposed federal ban. He noted that the company “will fully comply with local laws and the final FDA policy when effective.”

    View the original article at thefix.com