Tackling the Rise of Underage E-cigarette Use.

For years, efforts to prevent minors from smoking have not stopped. A new generation of young people is becoming addicted to nicotine, and new efforts are needed on many levels to prevent it. E-cigarettes have become popular among young people across the country, but regulatory agencies have been slow to respond and their efforts have been ineffective.

The electronic cigarette was designed as an alternative to smoking and was initially thought to be a way for smokers to break free from traditional tobacco while still containing the addictive nicotine. However, an unexpected consequence is that young people have also started using electronic cigarettes. For years, children have been taught that smoking is harmful to health. But it appears that we have not emphasized similar information about electronic cigarettes. In some cases, electronic cigarettes are also associated with lung damage and people currently know very little about the long-term health risks of the compounds in electronic cigarettes.

As a result, ignorant children are increasingly using e-cigarettes in large numbers, and we all know that nicotine is highly addictive. Schools are being pushed to the forefront in an effort to combat this issue.

In the midst of a staggering increase in the use of electronic cigarettes among middle and high school students, East Noble has installed new vapor detectors in its bathrooms this year. On the first day of school, the alarms went off and over 30 students were caught. In the 2021-22 academic year, East Noble Middle School has experienced 53 disciplinary incidents related to e-cigarettes. The administration emphasizes that these are just the cases where individuals were caught and disciplined. They acknowledge that the actual problem is much larger and harder to control.

A few years ago, the Indiana State Legislature deemed electronic cigarettes problematic and prohibited flavored e-cigarettes. Recently, they took action to reduce the tax on e-cigarette liquids, despite established precedent that higher tobacco taxes correlate with lower smoking rates.

Indiana is currently experiencing a rise in nicotine addiction among a new generation of underage individuals, including some high school students. The state already has one of the highest smoking rates in the country.

Federal, state, and local leaders need to take immediate action and address this issue. Leaders should approach this problem from multiple angles and consider the following options:

• Support anti-vaping education for all grades below K-12. • Support more education for parents about vaping. • Provide financial support for installing vapor detectors in schools. • Strengthen support for smoking cessation programs. • Increase taxes on cigarettes, e-cigarette devices, and e-liquids to help reduce usage. • Ban the sale of flavored e-liquid. • Implement strict packaging requirements and educate buyers about potential health risks, similar to cigarettes.

The longer public health and legislative leaders drag their feet, the more young people become addicted to nicotine.

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