Don’t Let Sneaky Tobacco Tactics Fool You
Youth have long been targeted by tobacco companies, but with the explosion of electronic cigarettes in recent years, the battle is greater than ever. E-cigarettes, or vapes, are one of the biggest threats to the health of our youth. The rates of use of electronic smoking devices have skyrocketed among young people. In Wisconsin, 11% of middle school students and 32% of high school students have tried e-cigarettes. Even worse, 4% of middle schoolers and 20% of high schoolers in Wisconsin consider themselves regular e-cigarette users.
While Wisconsin took a step forward by raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21, the laws still have a lot of gaps and loopholes that tobacco companies take advantage of to target youth. Federal legislation in 2020 addressed flavored e-cigarettes, but tobacco outsmarted the law and created new products not covered by the law. Popular products live flavored disposable vaping devices (that can have up to 300 puffs of nicotine) and flavored e-liquids (used to refill e-cigarette cartridges) are widely available. Grape, cherry, cotton candy, sour apple- all of these attract youth. In Wisconsin, 96% of middle schoolers say they probably would not try an e-cigarette if it was not flavored. Two out of three youth tobacco users say they use tobacco products because “they come in flavors I like”.
Tobacco tactics go beyond the flavors. Products are sold at cheap prices in bright, fun packaging and are conveniently placed on store shelves at eye level for our youth. While cigarettes and smokeless tobacco have to be sold behind the counter, other tobacco products like vapes, little cigars, and liquid products can be placed on regular store shelves for easy access. To make it even harder for parents to catch, vapes are sold that look like pens, fidget toys, watches, and other everyday objects. You can even purchase hoodies and backpacks with built in tubes so you can vape in plain sight without anyone noticing.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that e-cigarette products are safe. No nicotine product is safe, and these flavored, deceptive products aimed at youth are shockingly potent. The industry’s most popular e-cigarette pod contains as much nicotine as 20 cigarettes. E-liquids can contain heavy metals like nickel, tin, and lead. The flavoring found in many e-liquids has been linked to lung disease. Vaping has been linked to lung injuries, cardiac problems, damage to the parts of the brain that control attention and learning, and even coma and death. E-cigarettes are also known to explode during use, causing significant damage and injuries.
Taking the time to learn about these products can help you to communicate the risk to your child and help you know what to keep an eye out for. Visit www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/tobaccoischanging for more information and photos to help you recognize these products and the dangers that come with e-cigarette use.
