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.
|