InnerAct Alliance Stands with the Drug Free America Foundation to Encourage the Ban of THC Products along with Flavored E-Cigarettes

As the U.S. government continues to investigate hundreds of recent cases of severe lung illnesses that may be linked to vaping, Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, has announced that the Food and Drug Administration will develop guidelines to remove from the market all e-cigarette flavors except tobacco.

InnerAct Alliance and its coalition partners, StandUP Polk and UthMpact, stand in agreement with the government’s proposal to ban thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes. We join with the Drug Free America Foundation of St. Petersburg, FL - a drug prevention and policy organization committed to developing strategies to prevent drug use and promote sustained recovery – to urge the administration to take the ban one step further to prohibit sale of all THC vaping products. As Amy Ronshausen, executive director of Drug Free America Foundation, explains, “The dangers of marijuana and other THC products to our young people are so significant that the Surgeon General recently issued a health advisory concerning the physical and mental health risks associated with marijuana. The logical next step is to remove THC products, along with flavored e-cigarettes, from the marketplace.”

E-cigarettes are sold in nearly 7,800 flavors including apple pie, cotton candy, gummy bear, and watermelon – flavors known to lure younger users. Once these younger users get hooked on nicotine, there’s a good chance that they will be in for a lifelong habit.

In our home state, statistics from the recent Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS) show that the percentage of Florida youth who currently use e-cigarettes has risen from 9.6 in 2016 to 13.7 in 2018. While the state’s rate of youth e-cig use surpasses that of our county, Polk’s rate still increased from 10.2% (2016) to 12.5% (2018), which translates to approximately 1 in 8 Polk middle and high school students who used e-cigs just last year. 

Many teens began vaping under the guise that it may not be as harmful as smoking traditional cigarettes. However, serious risks are associated with use of any product with nicotine that can lead to addition and long-term health consequences. Conclusive evidence has shown that drinking or injecting e-liquids can be fatal, that exposure to skin or eyes can cause seizures and other serious problems, and that e-cigarette devices can explode causing burns as well as other injuries.