Photo Credit Janet Cannon

From: Eve Krief MD

65% of teens who vape don’t even know that they are vaping nicotine! One Juul vape pod has the nicotine equivalent of 20 cigarettes.

As some of you may know I’m on the local American Academy of Pediatrics legislative advocacy committee and we are currently advocating for county legislation (res # 2128-2018, Local Law to Limit the Flavoring of Liquid Nicotine and E-cigarettes in Suffolk County). This will ban the sale of flavored e-cigs and flavored nicotine (except menthol) in Suffolk County. If any of you have teens, you know it’s a huge problem and it is addicting a whole new generation of kids to nicotine after 50 years of progress in tobacco control!  It is a proven gateway to cigarette smoking.  Furthermore, there are potentially damaging chemicals and heavy metals being inhaled with these products as well.

So when we pitched the bill to the legislature last week they were very positive and voted on it in Committee 12/13!  HOWEVER, Philip Morris got wind of this and has sent there attack dogs to fight this any way they can. While this is overwhelmingly popular legislation, we don’t want the legislators to be influenced by the tobacco lobby.  We are in the planning stages of twin protests on 12/13 and 12/18 and a phonecall campaign to get people to call their Suffolk County legislators to support the bill (res # 2128-2018). We can make a big difference in the life and future health of our kids here. We can stop an estimated 50 kids from starting to vape every day in Suffolk.

Here is some background:

1. 44 Percent of Kids Experiment with E-Cigs Due to Flavors efforts toward youth should include limiting e-cigarette flavors, communicating messages emphasizing the health risks of use, and changing social norms surrounding the use of e-cigarettes.
2. E Cigs and Youth Appeal Flavor and Ads
3. Flavored E-Cig Pop Data
4. full_report FLAVOR TRAP AAP ALA TOBACCO FREE KIDS
5. MMWR Flavors and youth use of e-cigs
6. pods tobacco control 9.2108 (002) (003)
7. Suffolk County E-Cig Flavoring Statement