The Article below was published in Vol. 135, Issue 1 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on September 20, 2019
By Maryam Javed ‘21
Opinions Editor
“Vaping has become a very big business, as I understand it, a giant business in a very short period of time. But we can’t allow people to get sick and we can’t have our youth be so affected,” President Donald Trump said at the Oval Office. Recently, the Trump administration announced that they are planning to place a national ban on flavored e-cigarettes in an effort to deter youth from using them. The ban would mostly be on flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pods.
Hundreds of individuals, especially minors, have been contracting lethal lung illnesses, and some are even dying as a result of heavy e-cigarette use. Some states have even taken drastic actions to prevent youth from obtaining flavored e-cigarettes. Michigan was the first state to do so.
Supporters of this national ban argue that the attractive e-cigarette flavors on the market, such as mango, fruit, and mint, are what captivate young people to use them in the first place. It also gained significant popularity among youth due to the discrete nature of the device and its uncanny resemblance to a USB port. One can easily keep it in a backpack or pocket, and smoke it between classes. These devices create a nicotine addiction in a generation that, prior to the popularity of vaping, was not likely to be affected.
Major companies of e-cigarette products, such as JUUL, have explained many times that their products are catered toward adults and not minors; yet, the use of devices such as JUUL are skyrocketing among young people. The amount of nicotine in a JUUL pod is equivalent to that of one pack of cigarettes, which is dangerously alarming. This is usually on the box of every JUUL device, yet many young people ignore these warnings. It raises a question, in my opinion, if these companies are really at fault or not.
I was also very surprised by President Trump’s stance on this issue. Usually, most Republicans prefer a small government, yet President Trump appealed slightly more to Democrats, as many believe that this is a public health concern. I think President Trump’s decision to speak about this now largely has to do with the election. Specifically, he is trying to engage more with parents and older people, which is very fascinating.
It is upsetting that so many young people are becoming severely ill from prolonged use of e-cigarettes, but I believe pushing for a ban is not the answer. I understand the concern of public health officials, parents, and educators, but in this situation the negative aspects of this ban outweigh the positive. It creates the risk that flavored e-cigarettes can become even more unregulated; black markets for these products could form, and many young people could also turn to smoking cigarettes as well due to their nicotine dependence, which is arguably worse and even more dangerous than using e-cigarettes. Pushing a ban can only lead to more health crises among young people. Just as prohibition failed almost a hundred years ago, this ban on flavored e-cigarettes will, in my opinion, most likely fail as well.
Maryam Javed can be reached at javedm@lakeforest.edu.
