Keep up fight against vaping by children

For years now health professionals, educators and government officials have been warning about the dangers of vaping by children.

For years now health professionals, educators and government officials have been warning about the dangers of vaping by children and trying to come up with ways to eradicate the practice.

Yet despite attempts to spread the word about the dangers of e-cigarettes and to impose regulations meant to discourage their use by young people, the problem persists.

Electronic cigarettes have been described as a less dangerous alternative to regular cigarettes, but they contain heavy amounts of nicotine, which health officials say is harmful to developing brains and might make kids more likely to take up cigarettes. According to the surgeon general, each Juul cartridge contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, and it’s formulated to give a smoother, more potent buzz that can get people hooked quickly.

It’s almost time for a new school year, meaning educators once again will be put in the difficult position of trying to tame a problem that’s so hard to control because popular vaping devices are so easy to hide.

And the latest news on the subject is not encouraging.

The Associated Press reported that as many as 50 people in at least six states have come down with breathing illnesses that may be linked to vaping products. No deaths have been reported, but at least a few have come close. Symptoms have included shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain and vomiting.

Wisconsin health officials on Thursday said they’ve seen 15 confirmed cases, with another 15 illnesses under investigation. New York officials are investigating 10, Illinois has seen at least six, and Minnesota doctors this week said they have four more. California and Indiana have also been looking into reported illnesses.

Health officials have only been counting certain lung illnesses in which the person had vaped within three months. Most are teens, but some adult cases have also been reported. No single vaping device or liquid is associated with the illnesses.

One key question is why such cases are surfacing now, when e-cigarettes have been widely used for years. Dr. Anne Griffiths, a lung specialist who saw all four of the reported Minnesota cases and is convinced they’re related to vaping, said it’s possible illnesses previously weren’t recognized as being related to the practice.

It would be nice to think that this development might discourage young people from vaping, but there’s reason for pessimism. Kim Barnes, the mother of a 26-year-old Wisconsin man who fell ill in a case linked to vaping, told The Associated Press story that her son’s friends have continued vaping even after they saw what happened to him.

“Everybody’s vaping,” she said. “They’re all vaping. And they all think it’s safe.”

Also discouraging was a New York Times report this week noting that even as vaping industry Juul Labs has responded to government pressure and taken steps to make its products less appealing to kids, smaller competitors are picking up the slack. That means stores are still carrying the sort of fruit- and dessertflavored vaping products that the Food and Drug Administration wants off the market, and children are getting their hands on them.

And a vaping industry group sued the U.S. government on Wednesday to delay an upcoming review of thousands of e-cigarettes on the market, which could hamper the FDA’s ongoing efforts to regulate the multibillion-dollar vaping industry, which includes makers and retailers of e-cigarette devices and flavored solutions.

It’s going to be difficult, but we must keep up the fight.

That means parents must be vigilant about ensuring their children understand the dangers of these products and make sure they’re not using them.

Retailers should put the public good ahead of the profit motive and refuse to carry the sort of vaping products most likely to appeal to kids.

And the government must keep up its efforts to pressure e-cigarette manufacturers and retailers to engage in proper practices.

It took decades to finally put a serious dent in the dangerous use of traditional tobacco products in this country. It would be a shame to lose all that ground now.