The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer.
This evening, the Tucson City Council could vote on whether to amend city code to make it illegal to sell tobacco or nicotine products to consumers under 21 years of age. If they vote yes, they’ll join a growing list of municipalities and jurisdictions requiring tobacco users to meet such a standard.
As of this piece’s publishing, 15 states and nearly 500 localities have outlawed the sale of tobacco to people under 21, with rules for e-cigarette and vaping devices varying. The new wave of legislation is driven in part by the popularity of vaping among teens.
In fact, according to data assembled by the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, self-reported use of vaping devices to consume tobacco or nicotine by teens is the only area where there has a been a percentage increase since 2016.
People are also reading…
“Vaping is reversing hard-fought declines in the number of adolescents who use nicotine,” says University of Michigan research professor Dr. Richard Miech. “These results suggest that vaping is leading youth into nicotine use and nicotine addiction, not away from it.”
2016 is also the year vaping devices finally fell under the regulatory wing of the Food and Drug Administration, and coincidentally, when the first state laws were passed raising the age of purchase to 21. To be totally fair, some vaping devices are used with THC or CBD oils as well.
Just from the optics of these moves, it’s obvious states are trying to get tobacco, and more specifically vaping devices, out of the hands of teenagers, who often view the devices as “safer” than traditional forms of tobacco and nicotine consumption.
That belief was reportedly encouraged by reps for the country’s largest vaping firm, Juul, according to testimony from teens in front of Congress this summer.
A CNN report on the hearing said that one of the teens, Caleb Mintz, reported the Juul rep spoke to his class as part a "mental health [and] addiction seminar" where teachers were asked to leave the room. The representative mentioned his connection to Juul, Mintz said, and the comments on e-cigarette safety were met with a ‘sigh of relief’ among his classmates who were already vaping.”
It’s no surprise companies like Juul would target youth, especially in an industry whose most loyal customers often begin their lifetime of addiction early. According to the HHS, “nearly 90% of adult smokers began smoking before age 18.”
The approach of Juul representatives also fits in with the way vaping devices have been marketed to the general public and regular smokers as either an alternative to combustible nicotine consumption methods, or a cessation device meant to help smokers quit.
The science for both claims is specious, at best as illustrated by a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It found use of e-devices to help stop smoking had better results than nicotine patches or gum. But there was a catch.
“Among successful quitters, 80% of those in the e-cigarette group were still vaping; only 9% of those in the nicotine-replacement group were still using those products,” concluded the study.
Essentially then, smokers are giving up smoking for vaping. And as that same study showed, the health benefits of such a move were negligible, with reports of cough and phlegm production dropping more in the e-cigarette group the most noticeable change.
Of course, curbing teen vaping will take more than legislation making it harder to purchase. There will always be those with older, college-age friends to circumvent the system.
Knowing that, perhaps the city can devise a public service campaign to educate youth about the realities of vaping through the new funds raised from licensing vape shops, a provision added by the new amendment, and from any penalties collected for violations of the new ordinance.
Yes, as with all somewhat-liberal-sounding legislation, there is talk of the threat of preemption by GOP state legislators. However, with four other Arizona municipalities already staking claim to similar statutes, Tucson should feel confident in knowing it won’t be going it alone in a potential legal battle.
After nearly two decades of steady progress against tobacco and nicotine usage, new technologies and attitudes toward smoking are changing society. Tucson can choose to get in front of the trend through legislation and education, or it can be overwhelmed by the clouds of smoke.
