Letter to the Editor: The Danger of Youth Vaping

I want to call to your attention the issue of young adults using e-cigarettes and targeted marketing toward those youth. E-cigarettes are on the rise in popularity, with a misconception that it is not truly smoking. In reality, e-cigarettes are yet another way to keep young people addicted to tobacco products. Most vaping juices are filled with nicotine; often, these nicotine levels are unregulated and "house-mixed" at vape and tobacco shops.
Beyond this, the vaping solutions are marketed using bright colors and candy flavors, somehow managing to avoid the regulations that prevent appealing to youth. According to a study by the Journal of the American Medical Association, young adults who are exposed to non-cigarette tobacco advertisements that are colorful and flavorful are significantly more likely to try them; over 44 percent of youth under 18 were receptive to the ads, and that receptiveness equaled and estimated 60 times more likely to vaping within the year.
We as a community need to take action and work toward changing the attitudes about e-cigarettes and recognize that these are still addictive tobacco products. We need to raise awareness that e-cigarette advertisement is using a loophole to get away with marketing to young people.
Sincerely,
Ian Unger
Youth Program Coordinator
Affirmations Community Center