Keep vapes available to adults while protecting Colorado’s kids – Longmont

Few public policy issues are more misunderstood today than the issues surrounding vaping in Colorado. From public health officials to law enforcement, the issues that surround these products cause confusion that has led to poorly written laws that are, at best, unevenly enforced. From misunderstood science surrounding vaping to lack of information surrounding federal laws, local elected officials and community leaders have been asked to come up with common-sense vaping laws without the relevant information to make sound decisions. As a former smoker who was only able to kick the habit by using vape products, I feel I can add missing information to these ongoing policy questions.

Despite being somewhat controversial, vaping products have been the most effective way for people to quit smoking. Vaping allows adults to use nicotine without the harmful effects of using tobacco. Nicotine, while an addictive substance, is not the cause of health problems associated with tobacco use. Instead, it is the process of burning tobacco that creates the over 7,000 harmful toxins that cause the majority of tobacco-related health problems. The National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine has recently found conclusive evidence that vaping, while contributing to respiratory issues, is vastly preferable to smoking from a public health standpoint. This fact has not been lost on millions of Americans like me who struggled to quit smoking.

With millions of smokers suddenly switching to vaping, an explosion of new products has flooded the market in recent years. And, like most age-restricted products, government at all levels has focused its concerns on keeping these new products away from potential underage users. Congress took the first step in regulating vape products when it directed the FDA to create a process for approving new vape products before they could be sold on shelves. The FDA now requires a formal application be submitted for review for all vaping products before they can be legally sold in the United States. This process was designed to eliminate vaping flavors like cotton candy that are designed to attract children. The FDA application process is also meant to eliminate cheap disposable vaping products, which are overwhelmingly used by underage children.

Unfortunately, most vaping companies have ignored the FDA application process and continue to sell their products directly to stores without regard for the law. This has allowed a flood of illegal products, thousands of which are manufactured overseas, to dominate the American market. The most popular vaping products used by children are flavored disposable products like Elf Bar and Lost Mary, two products that are illegal, because they are disposable and because they are produced in flavors designed to attract kids. These illegal products are sold openly in Colorado, because local law enforcement does not have a list of FDA-approved vaping products in which to check the legality of products on Colorado shelves. Responsible retailers, like the one I work for as a manager of a convenience store, make a point of only selling FDA-approved products to adults. However, there are far too many retailers who are either unaware of the federal laws surrounding vape products or who are unwilling to reject the revenue from the sale of these products.

There are attempts in other states to get these illegal products off the shelves. Just this year, six states passed vape registry laws. A registry creates a list of all vaping products which are legal to sell in the state. Any product not on the list would be illegal and removed from the shelves. This common sense law gives local law enforcement a critical tool in combating underage vaping use. An attempt was made to add Colorado to the list of states creating a vape registry, but the bill authorizing the creation of a vape registry was changed in committee this year, effectively ending any chance to create a registry this year.

Vaping products serve a purpose, as they provide smokers with less harmful alternatives. Elected officials in Colorado need to ensure adults have access to these products while also enforcing the laws that keeps these products out of the hands of children. It’s good public policy that should be supported at all levels of government in Colorado.

Tenaya Plaisance is a long-time convenience store manager in Berthoud.