BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — On Thursday, the Trump Administration announced a major move towards bringing an end to the youth epidemic of vaping, placing a temporary ban on many candy and fruit flavored electronic cigarette pods.
The ban targets manufacturers like JUUL, which sells youth-friendly flavored pods such as Watermelon and Mango.
Assistant Director for Kern County Public Health says the move is a good one and that, "nationwide we're seeing extremely high rates of e-cigarette usage among out youth." According to a 2019 Federal survey of youth tobacco, around 5 million middle and high school students currently engage in e-cigarette usage and 1.6 million consider themselves frequent users vaping at least 20 out of 30 days. The survey showed that 1 million vape everyday.
Vape business owners like Ali Mohamed, owner of Go Star Vape in Oildale celebrates the move to reduce usage among young people, however says his adult customers benefit from using flavors because they help reduce tobacco cravings and cut down on smoking tobacco cigarettes. He says the public is misinformed about the dangers of vaping and that many of the health-related issues and deaths are due to illegal THC cartridges.
The Kern County Public Health Department has several programs surrounding vaping and tobacco use. Click HERE for a list.
