Marion Board of Health member Edward Hoffer, M.D. said it is time to act on e-cigarettes in Marion and on October 1 during the meeting of the Board of Health he would propose an emergency ban on the sale of all e-cigarette and ‘vaping’ products.
But now, he may not have to.
Governor Charlie Baker announced Tuesday afternoon, September 24 that all e-cigarette and vaping products will be banned from store shelves for four months.
Across 38 states, nine deaths (as of press time Tuesday) and 530 confirmed and probable cases of lung damage related to e-cigarettes have been reported. So, the myth that e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to traditional combustible cigarettes, Hoffer said, “is almost certainly untrue.”
“I’m not speaking for the Board of Health because it hasn’t yet been discussed or a decision made,” Hoffer told The Wanderer during a phone interview on September 24 before the governor’s announcement. “This is my own personal viewpoint that I’m expressing.”
E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that work by heating a liquid containing nicotine (or THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis) to produce an aerosol vapor that users inhale into their lungs. The liquid is often flavored to taste like candy, fruit, or mint, and many contain ingredients untested for safety for inhalation.
According to Hoffer, some e-cigarettes and vaping liquids contain higher amounts of some toxins than regular cigarettes, and he says data shows that when people combine the use of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes there are significantly higher rates of cardiovascular disease than those who only smoke regular cigarettes. (The American Journal of Preventative Diseases published a study last year that suggested daily e-cigarette use combined with combustible cigarette use could lead to a five-fold increase in the risk of heart attack.) Furthermore, Hoffer said, people who use e-cigs to quit regular cigarettes often continue to use both, and underage e-cig users will often eventually start smoking regular cigarettes.
“What makes it (a ban) urgent is the associated cardiopulmonary disease,” said Hoffer. “It’s sort of become a mini epidemic over the summer.
“We don’t know exactly what’s causing that illness,” Hoffer continued, “But until we know exactly what’s causing it, we need to basically make these unavailable.”
Marion Public Health Nurse Kathleen Downey told The Wanderer on September 20 that the town-wide ban on flavored e-cigarette sales would likely be a temporary emergency ban pending further information from the Center for Disease Control.
“The number of deaths that we’re seeing, it’s across all age groups nationwide – it’s not just kids, it’s adults. We don’t really know what the problem is,” said Downey. “What this motion (to ban) is, is to say: let’s put the brakes on this. We’re in unchartered territory. No one knows what we’re doing and this is very dangerous.”
So far, Michigan has placed a ban all the sale of flavored e-liquids except tobacco-flavored pods. New York has also banned the sale of e-cigarettes, but will allow menthol and tobacco flavors to remain on the shelves. The Washington D.C. Council introduced a bill to ban the sale of all vaping products outside cannabis medical dispensaries or pharmacies and would require a doctor’s prescription to buy electronic vaping products. The City of San Francisco has banned the sale of e-cigarettes, too, and now Massachusetts has become the next state to ban them.
The superstore chain Wal-Mart announced last week that it would not be restocking its e-cigarette products once the current inventory runs out.
“I think it’s a crisis,” said Hoffer. “It’s not just my opinion, but the CDC, the American Medical Association – they’ve all recommended that no one use e-cigarettes. So, I don’t think what I’m proposing is radical.”
The president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Matthew Myers, issued a statement on the issue of banning the products, urging municipalities that “it’s more important than ever for cities and states to protect kids by prohibiting the sale of all flavored e-cigarettes.”
According to Downey, several Marion businesses had signed a letter to the Board of Health urging the board not to ban the flavored nicotine products and even mentioned the possibility of initiating legal action. That letter, however, could not be shared with The Wanderer until the board formally receives it in open session during its next meeting. Now, those retailers will have to take their grievances to a higher office.
The 2018 Youth Tobacco Survey results shows “alarming” increases in middle school and high school e-cigarette use between 2017 and 2018 – 1.5 million more students use or have used them than last year, a 78 percent rise. In 2018, nearly 5 million young people used some form of nicotine product. The survey shows 3.6 million of them use e-cigarettes, making vaping the most common form of nicotine use in youth.
The CDC and FDA analyzed the data and found that 39 percent of youths started using e-cigarettes because a friend or family member used them. Thirty-one percent said they started using e-cigs because of the availability of flavors like chocolate, candy, fruit, and mint. Seventeen percent believe vaping is less harmful than smoking.
A similar survey in Massachusetts showed that 41 percent of high school students have tried vaping at least once, and 20 percent had vaped in the past 30 days – a rate that is six times higher than adults. Ten percent of Massachusetts middle school students reported that they have tried vaping at least once.
Patients suffering lung damage as a result of vaping reported cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain. Some reported nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and some reported fatigue, fever, and abdominal pain developing over a few days or over several weeks.
The CDC is advising all people to refrain from using e-cigarettes and issued the following statement: “If you have recently used an e-cigarette or vaping product and you have symptoms like those reported in this outbreak, see a healthcare provider.”
Hoffer says anyone who used e-cigarettes to help quit smoking combustible cigarettes should absolutely not return to smoking regular cigarettes.
“You’re best, safest decision is simply to stop,” said Hoffer. “The best alternatives are nicotine gum and nicotine patches that can deliver the nicotine your body tells you that you need. There are also prescription drugs that can help ease the cravings.”
Downey said she supports the ban and expects other anti-smoking advocates will attend the Board of Health meeting next Tuesday, October 1, at 4:30 pm at the Marion Town House.
“I’m highly suspicious that we’re heading the way that we did with tobacco, with opiates – being told that things are safe until we find out that they’ve totally destroyed peoples lives,” said Downey.
By Jean Perry