Fewer underage vapors reported
Photo by Gustavo Fring from Pexels
Governor DeSantis last week vetoed a bill that would have classified e-cigarettes and other vaping products as “tobacco products” and raised the age to purchase those tobacco products, including traditional cigarettes, from 18 to 21. Meanwhile, a new study shows vaping has dropped 29% among high-schoolers and 55% among middle-schoolers in the past year.
The Governor wrote in his veto letter that SB 810 would have eliminated tobacco-free vaping as an alternative for adults smoking cigarettes, something he noted was more dangerous than vaping.
“This legislation would almost assuredly lead more people to resume smoking cigarettes, and it would drive others to the hazardous black market,” DeSantis wrote. “The latter consequence is especially significant because the much-publicized cases of lung injury associated with vaping in recent years has been traced to illegal, or black market, vape cartridges containing THC, not to the types of legal aping products this bill would abolish.”
The Governor also expressed concern about hurting small businesses that sell vaping products. He noted the part of the bill raising the age to purchase tobacco products to 21 was unnecessary, given the federal government already did so late last year.
A new report just out last week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that more underage e-cigarette users are stopping the practice. While nearly one in five high-schoolers reported vaping earlier this year (19.6%), that’s down from the 27.5% who reported doing so in the 2019 CDC survey. Among those who still vape, 22.5% say they do it daily. Among middle-schoolers, 4.7% report vaping, down from 10.5% last year. Of those who vape, 9.4% say they do it daily. The vast majority of both age groups report using flavored products, with fruit flavor as the most common choice. The federal government considered but has not pursued a ban on flavored products.
LMA Newsletter of 9-14-20
