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Tina Grosowsky |
With more than 2 million middle and high school students reporting that they used e-cigarettes last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed teen vaping an epidemic and promised a historic crackdown. UMass Medical School tobacco prevention expert Tina Grosowsky, MA, is seeing evidence of the dramatic rise in teen vaping, as she fulfills frequent requests from parents and school administrators to teach them how to address the crisis.
“As the tobacco and vaping industries continue developing new tactics to addict young people to nicotine, there’s always something new to contend with,” said Grosowsky, project coordinator for the Central Massachusetts Tobacco Free Community Partnership, a program of the Department of Psychiatry at UMass Medical School and clinical partner UMass Memorial Health Care. “One thing we know is that simply talking with teens about these products can help protect them.”
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is considering an outright ban on all online sales of electronic cigarettes, as well as halting the sale of flavored products, which experts believe are directly marketed to children with flavoring that tastes like gummy bears and cotton candy. Earlier this month, e-cigarette makers were given 60 days to inform the FDA how they intend to reduce the use of their products by youth.
Grosowsky provides important information about e-cigarettes in her presentations, including the various names e-cigarettes go by; the numerous unregulated, harmful and potentially harmful ingredients the vapor contains; the lack of manufacturing oversight; and the fact that the CDC considers e-cigarettes unsafe for youth, young adults, pregnant women and adults who do not currently use tobacco products.
Massachusetts is ahead of the curve with respect to tobacco prevention policy. In July, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law which will go into effect January 2019 which prohibits sales of all tobacco products to youth under age 21, including e-cigarettes.
