To: Mayor de Blasio
From: Carly Schreiber
Date: January 19, 2020
Re: Expansion of Federal Mandates for Product Packaging of and Increased Awareness about E-Cigarettes
Statement of Issue:
The issue of E-cigarette use has become a predominant, prevalent public health issue with rising numbers amongst both adults and teenagers in recent years. In 2019, over 5 million middle and high school students used e-cigarettes and almost 1 million were reported daily users. Research shows that the majority of teenagers don’t even know what is in their e-cigarette, 66% of them reporting that it only consists of flavoring. According to the FDA, 81% of youths stated the primary use of e-cigarettes was the flavoring itself as the main appeal. Additionally, over 20 states still do not have laws on product packaging of e-cigarettes.
- Teenagers are unaware what is in their e-cigarette. The fact that the majority of teenagers don’t know what their e-cigarettes contain is one of the biggest issues regarding the vaping epidemic. While not all e-cigarettes contain the exact same additives and chemicals, most or all contain nicotine, a fact which the youth appears to be ignorant of. As many teenagers view e-cigarettes as a safe way to smoke and receive its pleasurable benefits, I strongly believe if they knew what it contained they would be less likely to engage in vaping.
- Restrictions on tobacco sales to youth leads to increased black market sales. On December 20, 2019 President Trump amended the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act which raised the minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21. While it’s important that the sale of e-cigarettes is federally controlled like with the control on alcohol, there are also downsides to this strict regulation as vaping is prevalent among high schoolers and even middle schoolers. Therefore, they turn to the black market and vape shops to purchase their e-cigarettes instead of purchasing them from more trusted, established companies.
- Teenagers are at increased risk in e-cigarette use due to adolescent brain development. While scientists are still working for clearer evidence on the harmful effects of e-cigarettes, what is known is the disparity between adults and teenager use. While there still may be quite harmful effects for adults, many use e-cigarettes as a means to quit smoking as it contains less nicotine and is not their first exposure to nicotine’s addictive effects. However, among the teenage population, for many it is their first exposure to nicotine which can harm adolescent brain development which continues into the early to mid 20s. While many adults use e-cigarettes for tobacco smoking cessation, e-cigarettes cause many teenagers to begin smoking cigarettes, serving as a type of gateway drug.
Policy Options:
- A federal mandate for product packaging for e-cigarettes in the remaining 22 states, including Florida and Maryland, to raise awareness about what is included in the various products. According to the Surgeon General, e-cigarettes consist of a “diverse group of devices” in which not all devices contain the same products. With some being more harmful than others based on which additives and chemicals are added along with the amount of each, teenagers and even adults will be more aware of what they’re inhaling.
- Advantages: With clearer, more straightforward packaging of products, consumers will have a better idea of what they’re purchasing and therefore, can make more informed decisions. Laws have already been enacted for childproof packaging of e-cigarette liquid as a measure of poison control.
- Disadvantages: A list of included chemicals and additives may turn uneducated, uninformed consumers, who would benefit from e-cigarettes as a tool for smoking cessation, away from purchasing them when they see nicotine on the ingredient list unknowing that it contains much less nicotine than a regular cigarette.
- The mandate to increase product packaging would also increase funding for raising awareness of the harmful effects of e-cigarettes. With the aim on teenagers and youth as they are more susceptible to its detrimental effects, greater awareness and advertisements against e-cigarettes must be increased, especially as it’s easier to reach youth through television and social media.
- Advantages: With so many advertisements on the benefits and attractiveness of e-cigarettes, there needs to be funding on advertisements to increase awareness by showing their harmful consequences. Since vaping is so prevalent amongst the high school and middle school teenagers, funding for advertisements on television and social media would easily reach the target population.
- Disadvantages: It may be very expensive to fund numerous advertisements on the negative effects of e-cigarettes especially since there are many which advertise its benefits. Studies show that consumers showed highest interest after viewing ads which explained the differences between regular and electronic cigarettes.
- Optional state mandates or a proposed requirement for states to intervene in the black market by investigating illegal vape shops who are selling e-cigarettes to minors. With more reports of EVALI, or e-cigarette or vaping product use-associate lung injuries, especially among teenagers placing several into comas and life threatening situations, it should be the responsibility of individual states to investigate the e-cigarette black market.
- Advantages: Through intervention in the illegal sale of e-cigarettes to minors, it’s probable that many young lives would be saved and improved due to the recent exposure of fatal effects of e-cigarettes in teenagers. While the e-cigarettes sold from trusted, established companies may not be “healthy”, they are regulated which the ones sold on the black market are not.
- Disadvantages: Also, cost and resource related. Black market and small vape shops are probably under the radar and it would be difficult, costly and a possible waste of resources to focus on intervening in the black market instead of on education and awareness.
Policy Recommendation:
A popular conception is that electronic cigarettes are a healthier substitution for cigarette smoking with its reduced amount of nicotine and other chemicals/additives. Like most public health issues, the spreading epidemic of e-cigarette use is impossible to solve, at least with one method, as it contains complexities such as an inability to generalize its effects based on age and previous tobacco use, differing products/ingredients and the manner in which and from whom it’s sold. Fears of the potential detrimental consequences of e-cigarette products are on the rise as they remain widespread among adults and become more popular amongst youth and young adults. I believe that these policy recommendations, mandating product packaging, increasing awareness and possible intervention in its illegal sales will minimize harm, assuage fears and improve health.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538684/
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html
