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GOING UP IN SMOKE!

By Toledo City Councilman Larry Sykes

Guest Column

 

For several months, I have followed the vaping crisis in our nation.  I have watched closely as the manufacturers of e-cigarettes increased their market share among our youth by marketing the various flavors to them.  This is the same industry that marketed tobacco products to our youth.

 

Over the last couple of months dozens of peoples have been hospitalized with complaints of lungs pain, trouble breathing and other symptoms. All of these people reported that use of vaping products cause them to have serious health problems and complications they never had before.

 

U.S. health official just recently reported 28 deaths, due to vaping, with the youngest person being 13 years old, and another 1, 299 confirmed and probable cases suffering from a mysterious respiratory illness tied to vaping. Those confirmed deaths represents 21 states, including one each from California, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

 

This serious respiratory illness has prompted a health scare that has led U.S. health officials to urge people to stop vaping, especially products containing THC, the psychoactive element of marijuana.

 

Thirteen people in Ohio have been confirmed and hospitalized with severe lung illnesses due to vaping.  There were two cases each in Franklin, Summit,  Hamilton, Richmond and Union counties and one each in Jefferson, Lucas and Portage counties.  Additionally, public health officials are looking at 14 illnesses in Ohio that may also be linked to vaping.

 

The American Heart Association states that little is known about the long term health impact of e-cigarettes. They cite the growing number of youth using e-cigarettes in this country and it is becoming an epidemic health problem.

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), from 2017- 2018, e-cigarettes’ use soared by 78 percent among high school students and 48 percent among middle school students nationwide. More than one in five high school students now report using e-cigarettes, with one in nine high school seniors reporting near-daily use. The explosion of the e-cigarettes and  JUUL-owned devices that are found in areas schools show just how popular they are with young smokers. While they are billed as a way for adults to quit smoking, they are also used by numerous teens to ingest tobacco or even stronger drugs.

 

Some of the devices look like a USB drive and they come in numerous designs, including rainbows, cartoons and even religious symbols. They are quite easy to acquire and can be bought for less than $20 dollars apiece.

 

The American Heart Association (AHA) states that our children have been lured by the tobacco industry’s savvy marketing campaign promoting flavors and featuring young social media influencers using the products.

 

I have seen and witnessed lives destroyed by the use of tobacco.  My mother, who was a chain smoker, died from lung cancer.  I have a close friend who just learned that she has a spot on her lungs and several liaisons on her brain, due to smoking.  Now this great nation is starting to deal with another potential explosive health problem, VAPING.

 

For too long, cigarette companies have gotten away with addicting our young children to nicotine by marketing candy-flavored vaping products for sale. It is time to take a stand and protect our most valuable, our youth. It is also time for the FDA to exercise strict regulatory oversight of e-cigarettes.

 

Research shows that 97 percent of current youth e-cigarettes users, used flavored products in the past month, and 70 percent cite flavors as a key reason for their use. Sadly, there are 15,000 flavors on the market, such as mango, mint, cotton candy, vanilla, bubble gum, candy, apple juice and gummy bear that is used to hook teens onto a highly addictive and dangerous product which sales are 8.6 billion a year.

 

Even though science has proven that nicotine is highly addictive and has adverse effects on the development of the brain like lead paint, the tobacco industry deliberately has set its sights on young Americans with goals to addict a whole new generation of users.

 

Michigan, New York, Washington State and Utah have taken action to ban the flavored e-cigarettes. In Ohio three cities, Bexley, Grandview Heights and Oberlin, have all banned e-cigarettes in all enclosed workplaces, bars and restaurants. Some of the major commercial food and retail giants like Kroger’s, Wal-Mart’s and Sam’s Club are getting out of the business of selling e-cigarette products.

 

By passing an ordinance to ban e-cigarettes in Toledo, we can send a strong message to those that are willing to sale this poisonous products to our children and will make Toledo the first city in Ohio to do so. I have spoken with Governor DeWine on this issue. He has asked the legislative authority to allow Ohio to join borderline neighbors and the State of New York in banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes products.

 

Parents should be concerned and take time to talk with their children about vaping and its health risks. When City Council passes this ordinance, we are essentially stating that vaping poses a serious danger to your health and that, hopefully, our youth will accept the message and reject the marketing campaign that could lead to health problems or hasten their death.


 

 

   
   


Copyright © 2019 by [The Sojourner's Truth]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 10/17/19 11:15:49 -0400.


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