In relation to blog post five, we are going to discuss teen vaping. In a recent study conducted by the National Youth Tabacco Survey found that since 2017, high school student's use of e-cigarettes and related devices has risen 15.8%. Inversely, cigarette use amongst the same demographic has decreased 1.6% to 5.8%. It seems one evil has been replaced by another, and the teen population is suffering from it. Starting in May 2020, the FDA will finally require all e-cigarettes sold to be reviewed for harmful chemicals such as Vitamin E Acetate. This chemical is the primary culprit in the recent illness and deaths across the US, according to Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC. Not only are e-cigarettes proving to be harmful, they are underregulated.  

Government intervention is essential to continue the path of reducing tobacco consumption in the US. E-cigarette retailers will have to prove that their products can provide a benefit to US public health next year, something that really doesn't seem plausible. This is an opportunity for the FDA to make a difference in the vaping market by denying the sale of e-cigarette products. Replacing cigarette addiction with vaping addiction is not the answer to reducing teen smoking. My proposal to the FDA and citizens is increasing the vaping age to 21. The synthetic chemicals still have not been thoroughly analyzed and tested in the long term. Until more research can be done about the harmful effects e-cigarettes have on adolescents, we need to make sure they stay out of the hand of our underdeveloped youth.