A

Before

Teen

Perspective

a

Joint

Co-Founder,

Hearing

on

Protection,

Students

the

Students

of

Written

Risks

the

Director

Abe

November

Senate

Health,

of

Against

Baker-Butler

Against

Youth

Testimony

Vaping

of

Standing

4, Legislative

and

2019

Nicotine

and

Nicotine

Education

of:

E-Cigarettes

Committees

Advocacy

on to

School-Aged Consumer Honorable Advocacy teen

professionals. me epidemic.

harmful. tantalizing of

a

perceptions

York

the on frequency.2 prevent

c-cigarettes

flavors

watching users, misleading.

teens 2 2019. 11W’. )‘oi’k

dangerous Kaplan. Raker—Butler. “Flavors l)uelianne.

a

to

the flie

teen

belief cigarette Times.

Times.

speak hip

starting \v.”jR[inI,cWlI1W)

especially

Mv

market, 1

Among

As

New

i’ and

Mans, lavor

minors

vaping

resulting Sheila I till

for

as

Senators. among

the look

name

flavors. Section Jamie.

here marketing. of

to iniç’,ç’oiu mix

youth-oriented

my York’s Trap.”

new

and

Students Abe

legislative

situation c-cigarettes.1

and

their

youth if Kids.’’

and

my

from

epidemic.

friends,

today. that is

not

youth.

e-cigarelle “JuuI

youth and

damaging B.

Jan from (

This

peers.

Abe

flavored ‘mnpaigit

harmfulness. S6722

passage Page

(‘a/i/bin/a all.

and buying Jack

increases lotmnin. Illegally

Against

hovever.

stands. a

I’d

Baker-Butler

has

that

Through

of

advocacy,

classmates, 8.

lack

new

Waxman. vaping Ill

but 30

the like 5 W.ThhItill1Iul.ptls.clinjaIuluLd.hIiid for

marketing. led iu’I’ill.iI—in,trkiiti—Ld.s

c-cigarettes

revelations

c-cigarettes

use

of c-cigarettes. Oct. “Juul Department Claimed

of

it

users.

current

the Tohacco./*ee Nicotine, the

Tobacco

to

to

is

through

warnings

has

the

As

flashy 2019.

“Students

give

the

not

lack appeal Knowiiiglv

media

and evidenced become

Legislature

That and

vemacularization

the

c-cigarette

you

and

of

about

marketing.

continue of

are

21

a

peers peer-to-peer

it

I of

full Its

projects,

regulation Public

and Againsi

national

am K/tic.

the

flavors nevertheless

was

not Products e-cigarettes. Sold

normalized

solution the

restrictions

are

Co-Founder

youth

by 201

hamifitl.

an Flea/tb.

has ‘l’ainted

to Nicotine.

risks

products

drawn recent

targeted 7.

extremely and

student-led

sleek

permeate Were

the

of httns:

perspective

education.

to

of 2018.

other

flavors.

of Nicotine

ability

leaves

out

this articles products. and yet Safer

to

c-cigarettes

the on

on n

and

to

nicotine. ‘“‘ wwjohac

of

simultaneously

initiatives.1

to

crisis.

product

teen

important In’: the

term than

teens

nonprofit

to

an

Pods. a

marketing.

Director

mass

workshops

in

perception on

market

decrease Cigarettes.

extremely

social

and

juuling.”

Time u

are While

the c Forncr s

The

teen

packaging

appear inek lla\

attractive

most

current first

of

working Thank

life.

are

magazine

data

use

Tobacco uk ,rsh

the

and Ixecntive

Legislative FDA

for

that

diminishes

step

targeted attractive

responsible with

By

to

of

is .

appeal re

warnings

adult e-cigarette

kk you Says.”

the

in clear

it

c-cigarettes. ‘P

regulating

flavors.

to

to

disturbing iki

is

tandem

Baker-Butler

and

21

addressing

emergence Says.”

for

combat

not

prevention ‘12 at

of

that Time.

product

does

the inviting

new

creates

for

I \Te11.

am

with 9

New Sep.

I With vaping products constantly becoming easier to conceal, it is nearly impossible for substance abuse prevention professionals. educators, and parents to identify all types of vaping devices. And it’s not just their inconspicuousness that make these products hard to detect. it is their similarity in packaging and marketing to common food and other products. In workshops I lead for prevention educators across New York State. I always start with an activity where I put six images on the screen: three contain innocuous products ranging from candy to USB drives and three contain vaping devices.6 Never have I had a group that can correctly identify, for all of the six products. whether each is related to vaping.

If It’s not pretty and it’s not flashy and it doesn’t evoke something pleasant. then it’s not cool, If it has muted colors and a large-print warning on the box about possible fatality, it doesn’t make people pay attention to you at a party. If it can’t be easily concealed from a parent or teacher, it isn’t as easy and thrilling to use.

Beguiling flavor names like Creme-Brulee. Cotton-Candy, Fruit-Medley. and even Fruity Pebble Cheesecake evoke imagery of copious candy, fresh fruits, and delectable desserts in a way clearly designed to expand e-cigarette marketing reach. These attractively-named flavors evoke curiosity among non-tobacco users, especially youth.

In fact. a review study conducted by researchers at the University of North CaroLina found that c-cigarette products were more appealing to prospective users when they had pleasant flavors.7 Many teens cite flavors as their main reason for use of tobacco products. with 81.5% of youth c-cigarette users saying they use tobacco products “because they come in flavors I like.”’ Moreover. 63% of e-cigarette users do not even realize that e-cigarettes contain nicotine.’0 Flavors mask the extremely high nicotine concentration and harsh tobacco taste of c-cigarettes. ensnaring teens and decreasing perception of harmfulness among youth. Banning flavors disincentivizes teen use. ram confident that my peers would not be interested in vaping a flavorless c-cigarette.

An argument c-cigarette supporters often make is that a lack of appealing flavors and marketing unfairly disadvantages adults trying to quit cigarettes. But this is a clear case of inisinfonnation. While there is no doubt flavors are appealing and may improve taste, they are not the reason why c-cigarettes can work as a smoking cessation tool. First, it is important to note that e-cigarettes have not been approved by the FDA as effective smoking cessation

6 “Stigs. Wax and Diacetyl: What Even’YouthAthocawNeeds to lCimw AboUt Vapi”u.” Baker-limier. Abe and

Judy Me’cy . Swdems Against jVkoth,e and Snedein Assisia,zce Services. 7 C)ct.20 19. p* H’ Ii

“E—cigareueflavorsdecreaseperceptionof’harmamong vouih.’’ [NC .Scbool oJSfebcnie. 25 Clet. 2019. •:I!lLuthI .ii 1(lIt) Ii 2 ,‘—,‘i”I’,’VcI’(’ i7_\,- Ambrose. 13K.ci aT.(2015). “Flavored Tobacco Product Use Among US Youth Aged 12-17 Years. 2013-2013:’ hnirno Of(‘IC 1,nei’icaii AfC(hcalAssociation, 313(1 7,, 1871—1873. i’Hr— wu’’ji’’bi ,ilui,mh en ‘ohm c’._i2”5i:2t° “TheFlavor‘[rap.”Cwnpah,ni /br Tobacco-hue Kid.c.2017. Eon- t,’’cki,’r, I!I(er,Noct 5,ioor,i:’ liii i’c:.’ripdi “JtJUL. c—cigarettes gain popularity among youth. hut aareness of nicotine presence remains low.” 1 uth

I,iniati’e. IS Apr. 2018. l’io’: IriHiioIiII ‘.or: k’ flre—Icl•. ‘IuI’’’u;:,I’’I’:’—L, ‘r’— ‘r;iE i.’ — IlI}ofl-’ ‘,itiI-,i

Baker-Butler 2 i

they

devices)1

nicotine e-cigarettes--not

addiction.

teen City’s that tobacco

c-cigarette

articulated. and not

teen policies

majority” Solomon “cannot

liquids appeared flavors

whom

do to

12

° 1III1 °

Tobacco hrio.. 1%

Fraga.

Fancy.

Waxnian.

‘What

“What

“Nicot

brain

speaking

not after

are

c-cigarette then

social

‘N’ restriction

l’h)LcI\r.LL.

Research

V\

ni A

Something

I

know even

What’s as would

products.

need

E-cigarettes

I John—Anthony.

help We

Control

Inc

founded

tell \.crMUi’1tr-r;irJiOrr development

We implementation

Shannon

Second.

ban

and urge.

in I

are an

packaging

circles.

Jack

LIres\

&

\‘UhIIIQ

Know

Mv

Know the

me

more

to out

entire

himself’

on

about

Addiction.” e-cigarette

Fletcher I ‘..!•.

encourage

use.

even

and

26(Ii. be

whimsical-sounding

c-cigarette peers

that

shows .

on

flavors,

Ni. because

About Students

bitt the

About

addictive

that

banned

I

‘in Sam

HIlI

pack

&

According the

their

can iflibsin

have

more

they

78—83.

“tThe

real

were

are

Michael

frequently - not

from

Faden. many

Electronic that Friedman. ‘curb?;

sale

Electronic

.Snu;kefree.goi.

li1LIflc

confidently

marketing of

effects.1’

users of

what

“a of

reason feel

been

Dangers

only

surprising for

Against

also

kIIIr

video

loIns

restrictions combustible

lic’—diiiiicts’ol’iiitiliiin! this

of

the

using than

lot

adults

Johns

the

the

both

7I

we flavored

themselves. to

CCtN’tIIClflJIt’EdIr’

on

for

r?Us-UILIUhi1l-chp of less

intense

policy,

Cigarettes.’’

“Juuicrs c-cigarettes Cigarettes.”

come

cigarettes.

ih, .cNU7RcS)

the ‘I-cc.. of

PSA

younger same

e-cigarettes need

kids

the Yet,

(2017).

children,

Nicotine.14

17-year

restrictions, don’t Juuling.”

likel’

say

flavors. cccI’’IIr,O

to Tobacco

National

market

“Juulers

up to

on

we

way teens tobacco stigma to

many

Against

that

cigarettes)2

“New

I,ic..Ii.s-.IccI:c,

realize make

to to stop

flavors

generation.

.Sniokef,ee.goi’,

do

SnokeJi-ee.goi’,

A

old

National

with

that

but

me, ever

there

can

Flavors

Institutes

were

few for

adults

know

I’iii

as Policy

York

and cc

this

Juul.”

cries e-cigarette

Against

the

and products

for

I

irs

is

sometimes a furtively only one

try

t,’iii

and have do

II:....

is

not

result

sense

epidemic.

that

City

right

Center teens

that

stricter

is

3

a

This

any

are

about

ot cartridge Center.

uiiiici’

May about marketing

As

silent

that only

broken

flavoured

most

[ieatth

National

Juul.”

the National

choice.”

what

of

of

other

type Jör

and

Faden

is

glance

users.

2018.

oftentimes,

e-cigarene

their

less

e-cigareae

imposition

what

nicotine

a aid

majority

flea/il,

16

teens

in

(Nil

those

decade.

of

introduce

created

often

the

than

institutes I

an

tobacco

smoking

likely

Institutes

explains,

addictive Solomon tobacco.

7Xtjiil are

down

I).

keeps

Faden

silence,

agree evaluatio&

Research.

in

cigarettes,

containing

effective

in

of

their

and

by

to

regulation.

these

product

coolness

of

these

the

of

former

teens teens

and ofilcalth

with

ever

cessation

Jack

warnings

banning

I

has

there

quality,

including

leattli

high

early

Solomon

teens

devices

sales

the try

who to tools

said

Waxman.

researchers

of

smokers

as

(Nil-I).

that is

school

(Nih). a

twenties.16

flavored

position

New

ban

in world

still much

Yet,

flavored

and support

that is

to

on

Baker-Butler

pervades

Jack

“the

because

is

evaluation.’’

both decrease

much

believes

they York

hallway.

he

harmful

on

with of

silent

I

found

the

just

are

we

3 Research has also demonstrated that non-nicotine flavoring compounds themselves. includina diacetyl. can cause severe negative health effects, such as “popcorn lung.”7 and new research from the Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science indicates these chemicals can react when vaped to form unanticipated. likely harmful chemicals, such as acetalsi8 Only time ill reveal the full scope of negative effects of flavorings in these devices, for teens and adults.

I see my friends addicted, falling behind in school. facing negative health prognoses. Teens close to members of our organization have been hospitalized. Lives are being destroyed by flavored e-cigareues.

I can accomplish something by talking to my peers as an individual but legislative steps can impact thousands.

Think about your children, think about their friends. It’s our future at stake.

Thank you,

Sincerely, -

Abe Baker-Butler Co-Founder. Director of Legislative Advocacy Students Against Nicotine

17 “Popcorn Lung: A Dangerous Risk of Flavored I —Cigarettes.’’America,, Lung ,lssocmiu,n. 2016, th’HiII hi’: 101r, I) ‘e Weir. William. ‘iuul users inhaling chemicals not listed.” J’alc.Veirs. 30 July 2019. 17 1i nmI-L\r-mh.Iim)- 19 liythropel. Ilanno C .et at. (2019) ..l:la.tlrant_sol\.ent Reaction Products and Menthol in II JUl. 1.—Cigarettesand Aerosol. American Juinnai o,fJ’rei’e,iiii’e Mecflcaie 573, 425—127. irtn:u’.;iipnu’nhric ‘IL :ir i-lc S(i-i°-37i l3UlXi lklIIIe\[

Baker-Butler 4