Back in 1975, Minnesota was the first state to enact a Clean Indoor Air Act. Although the act did not eliminate smoking in public settings, it did require the creation of “Smoking Permitted” and “No Smoking Areas,” it was still a groundbreaking law at the time. Thirty years later, the Freedom to Breathe Act banned smoking in indoor public spaces and workplaces, including bars and restaurants.
It’s time again for Minnesota to take bold action and ban the sale of vaping products until the Food and Drug Administration or the Centers for Disease Control have studied the potential dangers. Let’s not follow the path that finally led to tobacco regulations after millions of people died from cancer caused by smoking. Vaping delivers deadly, addictive chemicals just as dangerous as tobacco.
Other states and the federal government are taking limited action.
Massachusetts announced a four-month ban on the sale of all vaping products; Walmart said it would stop selling all e-cigarettes and the FDA announced it had opened a criminal inquiry into the supply chain of vaping products and devices.
In the weeks before that, New York and Michigan imposed bans on sales of flavored products and the Trump administration said it would propose a nationwide ban on most flavored e-cigarette products, including mint and menthol.
The use of e-cigarettes is a public health crisis with use among teenagers and young adults particularity alarming.
As of last week, the CDC reported 805 cases of lung injury associated with vaping. Use among young people, especially males, is significant.
The CDC recorded age and sex data on 373 of those 805 cases. Nearly three-fourths are males and two thirds are 18 to 34. While the products are illegal in Minnesota and most states for people younger than 18, the CDC found that 16 percent of injuries are in that age group with 38 percent occurring in people under age 21.
In addition to the injuries, 17 deaths connected to vaping have been reported, including one in Minnesota.
While cigarette use among teenagers decreased, vaping is on the rise. In 2011, 16 percent of high schoolers reporting smoking in the last month. By 2019 smoking dropped to 6 percent. Meanwhile, vaping has increased from 2 percent to 28 percent in the same time.
A study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found the increase in vaping last year was “the largest ever recorded for any substance in the 44 years” that it has tracked adolescent drug use.
You can learn more about the dangers of vaping at a program sponsored by the Sartell-St. Stephen school district’s Substance-Free Coalition. A speaker from the American Heart Association will lead the discussion at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8 at Sartell Middle School.
Minnesota has taken some small steps. The Legislature passed a law last session that now includes vaping in the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, limiting places where vaping is legal.
Other proposals include raising the age for legal sale for tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21 and banning the sale of flavored vaping products.
Bolder action is needed. The FDA thoroughly tests drugs and other products before releasing them for widespread sale and use.
The same strict process should be used for this dangerous product. Do the research now but in the meantime, let’s not experiment with the state’s teenagers.
