HONOLULU — The state House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce and the state Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health Committee will hold an informational briefing on the youth vaping epidemic at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in room 309 at the State Capitol.
Youth vaping is a serious public health issue, and recently there has been a dramatic increase in use of electronic smoking devices by Hawaii’s youth, a press release said.
Only 4.7% of Hawaii adults report use of electronic smoking devices as compared to 26 percent of public high school students, with numbers up to 34% for the neighbor islands. The national vaping average is 13%.
Overall, U.S. youth vaping surged 78% in just one year, between 2017 and 2018.
The lack of federal regulation has allowed the tobacco industry and electronic-smoking-device industry to significantly increase the introduction and marketing of flavored non-cigarette tobacco products, especially electronic smoking devices. The U.S. Surgeon General, Food &Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control have since urged states to take action.
“They are prompting state and local jurisdictions to protect children from a lifetime of nicotine addiction and associated health risks by immediately addressing the epidemic of youth e-cigarette use,” the release said.
Hawaii has experienced a heightened promotion of vape products that offer candy and local flavors specifically designed to appeal to the state’s youth, the release said.
These flavors include candy, fruit, chocolate, mint, Kona coffee, Maui mango, shaka strawberry, and Moloka‘i hot bread.
Many of the packages are designed to look like popular kids’ candies, such as Jolly Ranchers and Sour Patch Kids.
In this informational briefing, Hawaii speakers will give presentations on the growing local and national problem associated with youth e-cigarette use, and two experts will speak on the current commerce, regulation and policy trends of flavored tobacco and menthol and its effects on public health, especially as they relate to youth.
Aloha Kakou,
A solution to the vaping issue problem abuse is:
Modern laboratory scientists, who some could be referred to as FAKE SCIENTISTS, because much of what they do is make things not good for the environment but also are bad for the health of human beings.
Having said that, since at least WW2, they have been on a rampage to mix and match the molecules of petroleum from oil wells and coal mines and turn those molecules into plastic, much of which fills garbage dumps and the world’s waterways including a huge section of the Pacific Ocean.
In addition these FAKE SCIENTISTS, can also turn oil into polyester which is used in your clothes. There are thousands of things that these Oil chemicals, called PETROCHEMICALS, are used in.
Petrochemicals are also in the Agricultural poisons that are sprayed on our food and leach into the farm soil to poison the soil microbes that nourish our food, not to mention these petrochemical poisons go into the water and air and petrochemicals also make the poisons that coat our food for many reasons such as to kill off microbes and insects that spoil the foods’ appearance, or are used to preserve fresh food in transit over great distances, or used to preserve packaged and canned foods on the shelf at the store.
Petrochemicals also make up a large portion of our medicines, both Prescription and Over the Counter Drugs.
Petrochemicals also make up chemical additives put in our food on every shelf of every grocery store. Just read the labels, that is many of the words are petrochemicals. Even the vitamins are now made of oil…Petrochemicals.
Over decades of time in a person’s life our bodies are becoming saturated with petrochemicals.
Very sadly 1 protein in dairy products, milk, cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, etc., is now known to trigger our cells into cancer cells…and may be why young children get cancer…very sadly, they do drink a lot of milk and synthetic milk. This protein is called CASEIN. Humans are the only species that consume milk after childhood, and the only species that consumes other species milk, etc. No one needs milk other than their own Mother’s. And while you can get fake milk, it may have petrochemicals as well.
The problem with Petrochemicals is that they are Carcinogenic, meaning they cause Cancer. Simple as that.
And since the Flavors used in Vaping are made from petrochemicals, that means they are carcinogenic and the youth are inhaling into their lungs and blood stream Carcinogenic smoke and petrochemicals.
The government should and can “kill” many many detrimental things to our Health by outlawing, banning, the use of Petrochemicals in anything that can impact the humans, whether it is in food, or used in any way as to food, or medicines, or clothing (if carcinogenic petrochemicals in polyester clothing can cause, say, melanoma, a skin cancer).
It boils down to going back to nature made things and food to nurture our species, our bodies, it will help the other species as well as the environment.
Petrochemicals are not natural they are oil that has been perverted…by laboratories, and the cancer rates and types in humans are increasing, call it a coincidence…many scientists doubt that. It could be better attributed to Capitalism…for profit.
Interesting is that there is no known cure for cancer, yet the public is invited in for treatment of cancer often resulting in a quick death after a few months of treatment. Cancer treatments are meant to kill cancer, but cancer is a process, and you cannot kill a process, apparently you can kill the body the cancer process is in, but not the cancer, not to mention the misdiagnosis of cancer when there really was none.
This is no ones fault, it is very difficult, but sanity should prevail and effort made to remove and avoid the Causes of Cancer since Cancer is an Effect.
Cancer research money should be spent on finding and eliminating and avoiding the causes of cancer, many of which are known but apparently ignored while 100’s of Billions if not a Trillion dollars is made off of the ineffective treatments.
Stop petrochemicals in flavors and aromas and stop a big part of the vaping problem and it’s alluring flavorful attraction.
The article doesn’t address the underreported “epidemic” of teen marijuana vaping. According to the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey, over half of the 3.1 million teen who vape admit to vaping marijuana. As reflected in the reports of the tainted illicit THC oils, these street THC cartridges come are made in flavors that appeal to kids, such as Apple Jacks, Cotton Candy and Skittles.
Any sensible plan to address youth vaping must address illicit marijuana, which ironically, is actually responsible for the respiratory illness outbreak.