California Department of Public Health officials on April 24, launched a campaign aimed at educating parents on the harmful effects of flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and the ease at which kids can get them. The “Flavors Hook Kids” campaign is an effort, officials said, to combat the tobacco industry’s marketing strategies, which are meant to get kids addicted to nicotine and will run on broadcast, digital video, and radio across the state. With the campaign, they are hoping to halt a new crop of tobacco users in California who would more likely develop cost incurring diseases like hypertension and cancer via a potentially long term habit.
“Flavors disguise the harshness of tobacco and make smoking seem harmless, when we know it’s not,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith.
“Innocent sounding e-cigarette flavors like Cherry Crush and Cotton Candy are obviously not aimed at adults and could lead to a lifetime of nicotine addiction.”
In addition to e-cigarette flavors, health experts said they have noticed more manipulative tactics from the tobacco industry aimed at kids. Tobacco products disguised as things like juice boxes, ice cream and candy can be purchased online without age verification. A Journal of American Medical Association study found that more than 96 percent of minors aged 15-16 were able to find an Internet cigarette vendor and place an order in less than 25 minutes, with most completing the order in seven minutes. But E-juice for example causes arterial stiffness, associated with an increased risk of heart attack and strokes in later life. And there are more than 15,500 flavors of e-juice on the market so far, Smith said during a recent teleconference.
Four out every five kids who use tobacco have started with a flavored product, Smith said. Most teens are what are called “dual users,” she said, meaning they use at least two types of tobacco products. More disturbing is a newer trend among e-cigarette devices called “pod mods.”
One device in particular, JUUL, looks like a flash drive, officials said. It is easily hidden from parents and teachers because of its deceptive design. Each JUUL cartridge contains the same amount of nicotine as an entire pack of traditional cigarettes.
“We encourage parents to talk to their kids about the significant risks of nicotine addiction and tobacco use,” said Smith, “which can impact brain development and cause asthma and respiratory disease.”
“There’s simply no safe level of tobacco consumption, and it is far too easy for teens to get interested and hooked due to the tobacco industry’s deceptive tactics.”
The California Department of Public Health launched the campaign via its Tobacco Control Program which was established by the Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act of 1988. California’s comprehensive approach has changed social norms around tobacco-use and secondhand smoke. In November 2016, Californians passed Proposition 56 which funds tobacco-use prevention programs, a new state Oral Health Program and research on tobacco-related illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.