The Post Editorial We must stop teen use of ecigarettes

Parents, teachers, coaches and mentors need to be talking to kids and teens about the dangers of vaping and helping those already addicted to the nicotine or marijuana-infused products used in e-cigarette devices get the help they need to stop using.

Mysterious lung diseases that officials have linked to vaping devices have killed a handful of users and made hundreds of others seriously ill. That includes an 18year-old freshman at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley who sought medical treatment for a debilitating illness.

Her mother issued a plea on social media: “If our agencies aren’t going to protect our kids right now, then we need to educate our kids and ourselves on the dangers of vaping,” Ruby Johnson wrote. “We can’t afford to wait.”

It’s true. Even with federal officials acting quickly to try to determine the exact cause of the illness, the American public cannot afford to wait. Officials have honed in on the possibility that it isn’t commercially sold products causing the harm, but an extracted chemical used in products sold on the street, most likely containing THC from marijuana.

There’s no doubt that officials at the nation’s top producers of nicotine cartridges for e-cigarettes are hopeful their product isn’t to blame, but as we wait to find out what is causing this lung-damaging illness, we urge the public to exercise caution.

Colorado suffers one of the highest rate of teen vaping in the U.S. According to a 2017 survey of Colorado students, 27% reported they had used e-cigarette products.

These nicotine-delivery products are highly addictive, and they are trapping our next generation in a cycle of addiction that is difficult to break. Lawmakers must respond. We understand that adults in America are capable of making informed decisions for themselves just as they have for decades with other nicotine products known to cause deadly cancers. Many still choose to smoke.

But the playing field is not equal when it comes to kids and teens. Their decisionmaking abilities are not fully developed and some evidence indicates they may be more susceptible to addiction. Taking concrete measures to block kids and teens from being able to use nicotine and marijuana products, especially through these popular new vaping devices is essential.

Lawmakers also need to focus on ways to ramp up enforcement of underage smoking laws. Most of that work falls on municipalities and counties and their local law enforcement agencies. More stings to discover what stores are selling to underage kids would make sense and that kind of enforcement requires funding.

President Donald Trump has suggested banning flavored nicotine packages because of the way they appeal to children and teens. This is not uncharted territory. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009 banned flavored cigarettes, with a few exceptions.

The rational when President Barack Obama signed the law was that flavored cigarettes disproportionately attracted children and teens to these dangerous products. We supported that law and don’t see any difference between flavored nicotine products delivered by e-cigarettes.