(INDIANAPOLIS) – A UIndy public health professor says a ban on flavored e-cigarettes is a positive step against the recent outbreak of vape sickness.
President Trump announced the ban Wednesday, though it’ll take weeks to complete the F-D-A rulemaking process. UIndy public health professor Carla Brown notes health groups have been urging that step for years, to make electronic cigarettes less attractive to teenagers. She says one in five high school students has vaped in the last year, and four out of five of those say they started because of flavorings.
Brown says comparisons to traditional cigarettes are beside the point. She says the highly addictive nature of nicotine makes vaping a health risk, especially for teenagers whose brains are still developing.
While concerns about youth-friendly flavors like cotton candy and bubble gum go back far beyond the current rash of severe lung inflammations linked to vaping, Brown says there are indications that two flavorings in particular, caramel and popcorn/butter, may be the root of some of the illnesses.
The Centers for Disease Control have urged people not to vape at all while researchers try to pin down the cause or causes of the ailments.
