Nicotine exposure during adolescence and young adulthood can harm parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood and impulse control. It increases the risk of other forms of substance use and nicotine addiction, as well as impaired breathing, cardiovascular and immune function. Nicotine vaping increases the odds of smoking cigarettes and, like smoking, exposes those who use vapes and those around them to toxic chemicals and other harmful ingredients.
Unfortunately, the number of teens vaping nicotine has greatly increased in the past five years, with over a quarter of 12th-graders reporting vaping in the past year. Vaped nicotine is one of the most used substances among adolescents, and vaping accounts for most adolescent nicotine use. Nearly 85% of middle and high school students who use e-cigarettes use flavored products, and over half use disposable devices.
While the federal government prohibited the sale of flavored, refillable cartridge-based e-cigarettes in 2020, this left a loophole for disposable flavored e-cigarettes, which have consequently proliferated, particularly among youth.
Send a letter to your member of Congress urging them to support the Disposable ENDS Product Enforcement Act of 2023, which would close the loophole for disposable flavored vapes.
In order to protect youth from the negative outcomes of vaping, the products most popular among them – flavored, disposable vapes – must be targeted for enforcement.
