A case against e-cigarettes

By MANDY JORDAN, Bismarck
Today we celebrate the Great American Smokeout. It is a national campaign that brings awareness to the dangers of tobacco and secondhand smoke, and encourages people who smoke to quit.
According to statistics from BreatheND, this year in North Dakota 19.4 percent of high school students will smoke and will purchase 1.9 million packs of cigarettes. In our community, 42,000 kids are exposed to secondhand smoke on a daily basis.
Last year, Century SADD testified in front of legislators regarding the new threat to our young people’s health called e-cigarettes. These are electronic devices that deliver nicotine to the body through vapor. Not only can these be candy-flavored, you can now buy cartoon wraps for them to make them visually pleasing. They are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals such as diethylene glycol, which is found in antifreeze.
Although the carton says that you need to be 18 to purchase these, we have seen our peers who are under 18 using this product. They are now being sold at a kiosk in a local mall, which is cleverly located by stores where young people shop.
The tobacco industry is trying to say that this is a “harms reduction” product that is intended to help people quit smoking. It is even trying to get North Dakota taxpayers to pay for research that benefits the industry. (Keep in mind that tobacco companies own this product.) It is our strong belief that “harms reduction” is a lie and that e-cigs are a gateway drug that will ultimately create long-term addiction versus reduction. Please join us in our effort to put an end to not only tobacco use, but the new threat of e-cigarettes.
(This letter was signed by Mandy Jordan and members of Century High School SADD. Laurie Foerderer is the adviser.)
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