Protect Kids From the Latest Generation of E-Cigarettes
The latest generation of e-cigarettes target kids with fun flavors, massive doses of nicotine, and built-in video games.
Topics: NAESP Partner
With school soon out for summer, principals and health leaders are raising the alarm about the threat kids face from the latest generation of e-cigarettes. Featuring fun flavors, built-in video games, and massive doses of nicotine, these dangerous products are putting kids at risk for lifelong addiction and exposing them to a wide array of toxic chemicals, including formaldehyde, lead and benzene. Principals play a crucial role in stopping youth e-cigarette use.
Flavors, Games, and Gimmicks
While progress has been made to reduce youth e-cigarette use, 1.6 million kids across the country still use these products. According to the latest data from the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 90 percent of youth e-cigarette users chose sweet, enticing flavors like cherry crush and cotton candy, which mask tobacco’s harshness, making it easier to start vaping.
In addition, vape companies are flooding the country with millions of illegal products and even designing a new generation of devices: built-in video games, some resembling toys, highlighters and smartphones. Games can keep people on the device for long periods, and some devices even require users to take puffs to maintain gameplay. Some products have a switch to change battery power, allowing for bigger puffs and greater nicotine delivery.
Today’s e-cigarettes have more nicotine than ever, with some containing as much as a pack of 20 cigarettes or more, which harms developing brains, affecting attention, memory and learning—and greatly increasing the risk of addiction.
Time to Take Action
E-cigarettes have been the number one tobacco product among kids since 2014. Popular brands like Elf Bar, Breeze and Mr. Fog aren’t authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), yet they remain widely available and directly marketed to kids. These products pose a serious public health threat to kids across the country. The FDA must remove flavored e-cigarettes from the market and crack down on illegal products.
On April 1, youth from across the country came together to stand up to Big Tobacco, expose the tricks this industry uses to lure kids into addiction, and call for change as part of Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action. More than 200 different groups and individuals hosted an event. Join us all year in fighting back and raising the alarm to protect kids from a lifetime of nicotine addiction. Join us in our fight at Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.