R Street Institute

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Democrats push ban on flavored e-cigs in name of protecting kids

by David Bahr
March 4, 2017
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issues: Behavioral Health, Harm Reduction, Healthier Communities, Substance Regulation, Tobacco Harm Reduction
originally published in Daily Caller
From The Daily Caller:

“There is no evidence that the availability of some flavors prompt children to try e-cigarettes,” Dr. Edward Anselm, a senior fellow of the R Street Institute, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Those who are curious about the nicotine will try it. E-cigarettes are certainly safer than combusted cigarettes.”

Critics of the proposed ban note the flavors are very popular with adults and offer smokers a viable way to reduce health risks to themselves and those around them. Major health groups in England, like the Royal College of Physicians, agree that using e-cigarettes eliminates most of the harms attributed to smoking. They also recommend vaping to patients trying to quit traditional tobacco products.

Vaping eliminates up to 95 percent of the risk associated with cigarettes because the majority of cancer-causing chemicals are inhaled through smoke.

“Many adults seem to like kids flavor,” Anselm told TheDCNF. “Studies of regular vapers show that they change flavor several times a day because vaping requires more puffs than smoking. Vaping delivers less nicotine and thus requires more puffs.”

 

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