What's In Your Vape? Seminar To Raise Awareness About 'Epidemic'

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — What's in my vape?

That's a question educators plan to explore next week with parents and community members as the Hampton Bays School District, in conjunction with the Suffolk County Department of Health, hosts an informative community workshop.

The meeting will be held on Dec. 5,at 6:30 p.m., at Hampton Bays High School, located 86 East Argonne Road, with the goal of shedding light on the "vaping epidemic that is sweeping across schools," the district said.

During the session, parents and community members will hear from Stephanie Sloan, MS, CASAC, senior drug abuse educator from the Suffolk County Department of Health, who will provide an overview of vaping and laws pertaining to vaping nicotine and THC.

Parents may not be aware that although it appears their teen is holding a USB stick, it may actually be a JUUL, or an e-cigarette. The e-cig device has replaceable pods that come in eight different flavors and deliver as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.

Even though the Food and Drug Administration has said that "electronic nicotine delivery systems" cannot be sold to anyone younger than 18 years of age, JUULs are enormously popular to teenagers.

A survey conducted in 2013-14 found that 81 percent of young e-cigarette used said the availability of appealing flavors is main reason for using them. According to JUUL's website, the flavors include Virginia Tobacco, Classic Tobacco, Creme, Mango, Cucumber, Menthol and Mint.

In September, the FDA announced that the use of e-cigarettes by teenagers has now reached an epidemic proportion.

With that announcement, the administration said it sent warning letters to 1,100 retailers and issued another 131 fines, that range from almost $300 to more than $11,000 for selling e-cigarettes to minors, the New York Times said.

And it's not just mom-and-pop vape shops that were targeted. Walgreens, 7-Eleven stores, Circle K convenience shops and Shell gas stations are among those who received the warning letters, according to the post.

In New York, nine establishments received warnings or a monetary penalty from the FDA since April for selling e-cigarettes to minors, including two on Long Island.

A statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. said that e-cigarettes may present "a important opportunity for adult smokers to transition off combustible tobacco products and onto nicotine delivery products that may not have the same level of risks associated with them."

Unfortunately, the agency's enthusiasm for getting rid of the burning of tobacco to release nicotine for inhalation allowed it to miss what is now believed to be an epidemic of e-cigarette use among teens, some believe. Gottlieb said his agency is "seriously" reconsidering the Aug. 8, 2022, compliance date for submission of product applications and will focus on the flavored e-cigarettes.

"Today, we sent letters to five e-cigarette manufacturers whose products were sold to kids during the enforcement blitz and that, collectively, represent more than 97 percent of the current market for e-cigs — JUUL, Vuse, MarkTen, blu e-cigs and Logic. These brands will be the initial focus of our attention when it comes to protecting kids," he said.

"We're committed to the purpose of harm reduction," Gottlieb said. "We're committed to saving lives. And we're committed to changing the trajectory of death and disease from tobacco."

Additional reporting by Michael Woyton.

Image via Shutterstock.