Flavor taken away from E-Cigs

In the 5 past years, e-cigarettes have become common. A major reason why they’re so popular is due to all the types of flavors that can be purchased, with ranges from mango to mint and many more.

Walking around the park, going to clubs, being at schools, or driving, you’ll see a big white puffy cloud that has a sweet flavor to it, typically. Those common white clouds are the smoke produced by e-cigarettes and usually in the hand of an underage smoker.

“Some 3.6 million people under 18 reported using e-cigarettes,” the F.D.A. agency said to The New York Times in the second week of November.

On Nov. 15, the F.D.A. made restrictions on selling flavors. Now, all that can be bought in stores is the original tobacco flavor and mint, which young adults and teens have reported to not enjoy as much as the sweet candy flavors.

For college students, the product Juul has become popular. It is a small flash drive looking e-cigarette. One JUUL pod, which contains the nicotine, is around the quantity of 20 cigarettes.

“I go through about one pod a day,” said David Faun, sophomore University of Hawaii student.

E-cigarette smoking became very popular once flavors where made, the F.D.A. noticed, and having those flavors attracted the younger generation to participate. Considering the flavors are like air candy. Now that the flavors are restricted the F.D.A. hopes the use of e-cigarettes will drop.

“The F.D.A.’s crackdown on flavored e-cigarettes began earlier this year, as the numbers of teenagers vaping reached epidemic proportions and the popularity of such devices soared,” as reported by the New York Times in the same article.

“Now that there aren’t flavors, there is no point in using my Juul, because the tobacco flavor is disgusting,” said junior Chaminade student Sara Carting.

On the Chaminade campus, I overheard a conversation between two female students on Juul pods. One asked her friend if she could get her the mango Juul pods, but the friend replied that the flavors weren’t being sold anymore, and the friend looked shocked and said: “nevermind then.”

“The reason I got the Juul was the flavors and now that it’s gone after my last flavored Juul pod is gone I am more than likely going to throw my Juul away. It’s probably a good thing though because I really don’t need to be smoking like this,” said Michael Coultan, senior University of Hawaii student.

Underage teens are able to purchase and consume vaping products due to buying them online. The F.D.A has now made a harder and more thorough process for online buying to ensure that underage teens aren’t able to acquire the products.

“The availability of flavors in e-cigarettes is one of the top reasons that middle and high school students cite as their motivation for using e-cigarettes,” said Patricia Folan, director of the Center for Tobacco Control at Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y., to the Medical Press on Nov. 9.

The F.D.A. put the restrictions on flavored vaping products hoping the sales and underage consumption of the products will go down. The restrictions have put a damper on the product for older legal adults, but the F.D.A. is highly concerned with the health and safety of the younger generation and is finding a common resolution.