By City-County Health Department and CVPost Staff
E-cigarettes will now be included when stores are checked to ensure that they don’t sell tobacco products to minors, according to the Eau Claire City-County Health Department.
This change is being made through the statewide Wisconsin Wins (WI Wins) program to address the rising popularity of e-cigarettes among adolescents and teens. Data from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey show that current e-cigarette use among middle and high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014, the Health Department said in a press release.
A separate study, published this past week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, indicates that teens who use e-cigarettes have a greater likelihood of smoking conventional cigarettes or using other tobacco products later in life. That study, done at 10 Los Angeles high schools, contains no data on how frequently the students used e-cigarettes but nonetheless indicates that e-cigarettes could pose a health hazard “by encouraging adolescents to start smoking conventional tobacco products,” according to an AP news story.
Data from the 2014 Wisconsin Youth Tobacco Survey show that 7.9% of the state’s high school students are using electronic cigarettes, which have surpassed conventional cigarette smoking among youth even though they have been on the market only a few years.
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices designed to deliver nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals to users in vapor form instead of smoke, and are designed to simulate the act of tobacco smoking. They are often perceived by youth as being less harmful than tobacco cigarettes, according to the local Health Department.
The surge in e-cigarette use by middle and high school students is cause for concern since nicotine is highly addictive and is known to have harmful effects on the adolescent brain, the Health Department said. The press release added that the wide array of e-cigarette cartridge flavors (such as coffee, mint, candy, and fruit flavors) is another area of concern, as the candy and fruit flavors seem particularly appealing to young people.
Wisconsin Wins was launched in the spring of 2002 as part of a comprehensive approach to prevent youth access to tobacco products. The program is a science-based, state-level initiative designed to decrease that access through positive reinforcement that aims to reduce illegal tobacco sales to minors, according to the Health Department.
The WI Wins effort congratulates local clerks who do not sell tobacco to youth, while educating those who would. This approach creates community pride and provides youth who make the compliance checks with an opportunity to make a difference in their community, the Health Department said.
“The Wisconsin Wins program not only works to keep tobacco out of minor’s hands, but also congratulates retailers (who decide) to not sell. Regular compliance checks are important to make sure that our youth are not easily accessing a product that can addict them and cause negative health effects,” said Deb Tackmann, WI Wins Coordinator for Eau Claire County.
In Wisconsin, 6.4% of retailers sold tobacco products to minors in 2014. In Eau Claire County that number was 9.7%. Retailers who pass their checks are thanked by the Eau Claire County Health Department representatives and participating youth, while those who sell to youth are provided with resources, such as Smokecheck.org, to help them avoid future illegal sales and potential fines.
For more on local tobacco prevention and control efforts, contact Rachael Manning, Health Educator, at 715-839-5091.