Attention from the Food and Drug Administration on the dangers of nicotine use by teens should provide new resolve for the Legislature. Lawmakers next year must rekindle efforts to raise the age for tobacco purchases in the state — and should include e-cigarettes in any legislation.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently noted an “epidemic” in vaping among youngsters and warned companies that their actions are being scrutinized. “I use the word epidemic with great care,” Gottlieb said. “E-cigs have become an almost ubiquitous — and dangerous — trend among teens. The disturbing and accelerating trajectory of use we’re seeing in youth, and the resulting path to addiction, must end. It’s simply not tolerable.”
The use of e-cigs, or vaping, is seen by many as a safe alternative to regular cigarettes. The products have, indeed, been helpful for many adults who are attempting to quit smoking, as they deliver nicotine without the harmful smoke or annoying odor of cigarettes. But there remains scant research on the safety of the relatively new products, and that lack of knowledge could be particularly dangerous to teens.
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that vaporize a liquid nicotine solution — a highly addictive drug. Early research suggests the vapor is harmful to the heart, lungs and brain, and solvents in the solution are suspected of being carcinogenic. Meanwhile, scientists believe that regular vaping is more likely to lead to regular cigarette smoking among teens.
The FDA announced that, in the next 60 days, officials plan to investigate the sales and marketing practices of the five major e-cigarette companies. With brightly colored packaging and flavors that mimic candy, fruit and alcoholic drinks, companies have been successful in targeting the youth market. The 2016 Health Youth Survey found that Washington teens are more than twice as likely to use e-cigarettes than traditional cigarettes, and in many cases users are not aware of the risks or the even the fact that vaping exposes them to nicotine.
“We’re especially focused on the flavored e-cigarettes,” Gottlieb said. “And we’re seriously considering a policy change that would lead to the immediate removal of these flavored products from the market.”
While state and federal laws prohibit the sale of vaping products to consumers younger than 18, Gottlieb said the FDA will crack down on go-betweens who then sell to underage youth on the black market. “If young adults go online and buy 100 units of a product to sell to teens, that activity ought to be easy for a product manufacturer to identify,” Gottlieb said.
Meanwhile, some Washington lawmakers in recent years have sought to raise the age for legal tobacco purchases from 18 to 21. Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, has been at the forefront of these efforts and last year introduced House Bill 1054. But that bill — along with companion Senate Bill 6048, co-sponsored by Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center — failed to make it out of committee.
Reasonable arguments can be made that raising the tobacco age would amount to government overreach and that tobacco use should be a personal choice by adults. But societal norms have determined that 21 is a reasonable age for alcohol and marijuana purchases and that the benefits of such limits outweigh the drawbacks. The same should go for tobacco.
When lawmakers reconsider raising the age for tobacco purchases next year, they should include e-cigarettes in the legislation. The costs are too great to ignore.
