PACT Notes

GoErie.com reports on e-cigarette use among teens in Erie County. Use among Erie County teens has increased significantly in recent years, even though federal law prevents the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone younger than 18. About one in six students in the county — 16.6 percent — vaped at least once in the past 30 days, according to the 2017 Pennsylvania Youth Risk Behavior Survey. It’s an increase from 16 percent in the 2015 survey, the first survey that included vaping statistics. Nationally, e-cigarette use rose from 1.5 percent to 11.7 percent among high school students and from 0.6 percent to 3.3 percent among middle school students from 2011 to 2017, the Food and Drug Administration reported recently.

Special Edition: PACT Advocacy Priorities 2019

The Wolf Administration is urging teens and their parents, educators and health care providers to be aware of the dangers of vaping or using e-cigarettes as the number of teens using this method of smoking is increasing across the nation. “Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive drug that can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “Young people who use e-cigarettes may be more likely to go on to use regular cigarettes. If you have a problem with vaping, there are resources available to help you.” The FDA, last month, declared the use of e-cigarettes among teens an “epidemic” and is taking steps to stop youth access to tobacco products. At the same time, the U.S. Surgeon General determined that e-cigarette use among youth and young adults is a public health concern.

The American Lung Association expressed concern about the possible health consequences of e-cigarettes and lack of government oversight of the products. Joining Smart Talk on Wednesday to discuss e-cigarette use among youth and the public was Erika Sward, assistant vice president of national advocacy for the American Lung Association, Jennifer Hobbs Folkenroth, national senior director, tobacco, American Lung Association, Dr. Jonathan Foulds, professor of public health sciences and psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine, and Dionne Baylor, supervisor and prevention specialist with Dauphin County Department of Drug & Alcohol Services.

In the latest of a series of actions to address the epidemic of youth e-cigarette use, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched The Real Cost Youth E-Cigarette Prevention Campaign, a new, comprehensive effort aimed at educating kids about the dangers of e-cigarettes. The campaign targets nearly 10.7 million youth, aged 12-17, who have used e-cigarettes or are open to trying them, and features hard-hitting advertising on digital and social media sites popular among teens, as well as placing posters with e-cigarette prevention messages in high schools across the nation.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars clubhouse in Morningside is one of hundreds of establishments in Allegheny County where state law allows people to smoke inside. Though Pennsylvania passed the Clean Indoor Air Act in 2008, there were thousands of exemptions for establishments in the hospitality industry (mostly bars). On Tuesday, Pennsylvania VFW commander Thomas Hanzes spoke at the Morningside VFW and called on state lawmakers to end the exemptions and ban smoking inside all workplaces. He says VFW members have already voted to support this step and many other posts are joining Morningside.

Chestnut Hill College is now a tobacco-free campus, which is something that offers immense benefits to students, faculty/staff and visitors alike. The College officially implemented its Tobacco-Free Campus Policy on Aug. 15. The use of lighted and nonlighted tobacco, as well as electronic cigarettes and vaporizers, is now prohibited within the campus boundaries; this includes all buildings, parking lots, walkways, sidewalks, athletic facilities and both private and College-owned vehicles, parked or operating, on the property. The College is one of several local schools, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, to adopt similar policies prohibiting smoking and tobacco use. Currently, there are close to 2,000 colleges in the United States with tobacco-free policies.

PACT Notes August 31st, 2018 Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students - United States, 2014-2017 CDC analyzed data from the 2014-2017 National Youth Tobacco Surveys to assess the use of seven tobacco products (cigarettes,...

The use of flavored tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), is common in the United States, and flavored products are particularly appealing to young people. The objective of this study was to describe national and state trends in flavored and menthol e-cigarette unit sales. This study examined data on 4 types of e-cigarette products (rechargeables, disposables, prefilled cartridges, and e-liquid refills). From 2012 through 2016, flavored e-cigarette sales as a percentage of all e-cigarette sales increased nationally (from 2.4% to 19.8%) and in all but 4 states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Vermont).