e-cigarettes, vaping, image by Yana Tikhonova OPINION – As students return to campus this month, the presence of vaping is becoming normalized and more prevalent. It’s shocking that our youth’s awareness about the harm these products can cause remains stubbornly low.
Photo by Aleksandr Yu via Shutterstock While smoking traditional cigarettes has declined, vapes – a type of electronic cigarette with chemical cartridges – are the number one tobacco-related product used by adolescents.
Discarded e-cigarette pods and vape devices recovered by University of California, San Francisco researchers. (Photo by Jeremiah Mock).Nearly two years ago, Jeremiah Mock heard a student in Marin County complain that her school was littered with e-cigarette waste. A health anthropologist by training, Mock did some shoe-leather investigating in a student parking lot, where he found a significant amount of e-cigarette and tobacco trash.
A young woman puffing on a vaping device. (Photo: Aleksander Yu, via Shutterstock)OPINION: For decades, vaping has served as a viable alternative to meet evolving consumer preferences and medical needs. But in recent weeks, a public health crisis has emerged. State officials are working around the clock to develop potential solutions to address this critical situation – as demonstrated in Wednesday’s legislative hearings and ongoing discussions about the issue.
A lineup of various types of vaping pens. (Photo: Kevin Yuan, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Studies have shown that the availability of flavors is perhaps the single most important factor for those who successfully quit cigarettes by switching to vaping. But how do we protect our children from products that are not designed for them, while making sure adults who need those products continue to have access?
A man vaping as he enjoys coffee in a cafe. (Photo: Aliaksandr Barouski, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Recently, there’s been a lot of discussion surrounding proposed legislation to ban flavored vaping products. I’ve seen and read many articles that cast vaping in a negative light. But, before you throw the baby out with the bathwater, I encourage you to consider the true impacts. Restricting access to flavored vapor products is restricting access to a product that has saved lives and helped smokers quit- including myself.