School is back in session and the start of a new school year is a good time to remind parents that while we’re paying attention to homework, schedules, and activities, we also have a responsibility to look out for tobacco products possibly making their way into our kids’ lives.
As assistant principal at Cony Middle School in Augusta, I watch students’ interactions and help them throughout their school day and year. I can tell you that flavored tobacco products are a significant problem in schools throughout our state. I have witnessed students lose interest in sports, school work, extracurricular activities, and even friendships because they become addicted so quickly to flavored tobacco. The health impacts are sometimes immediate, and smoking can damage nearly every organ in the body.
Studies have shown that 4 out of 5 kids using tobacco started with a flavored product. Flavors like menthol, spearmint, blueberry, apple and vanilla attract kids and mask the smells and taste of nicotine. Flavored tobacco products are also highly addictive and hard to quit. We know that many e-cigarettes contain as much nicotine as a pack of 20 cigarettes or more.
In addition, we are finding that companies also manufacture products to help kids conceal their addiction, such as hoodies that hide devices or vaping pens that look exactly like highlighters.
Ask any school resource officer, nurse or administrator and they will attest that flavored tobacco products are now a public health crisis. Flavored tobacco products have severe impacts on our kids’ health and wellness. It changes how their brains develop and grow, impacting their success in school and sports.
We know that smoking causes disease and disability. Today, there is growing evidence that e-cigarettes can harm lung health, and the Surgeon General warns that nicotine exposure during adolescence and young adulthood can cause addiction and long-term harm to brain development.
A number of communities have passed local ordinances ending the sale of flavored tobacco products. Earlier this year, the Maine Senate understood this urgent public health issue and passed statewide legislation to end the sale of flavored tobacco products. Now the Maine House of Representatives must do the same and address this legislation in the new year.
My reason for writing is to educate students, parents, and community members about the significant increase in the use of tobacco products in teens. It is also to help to educate about the use of flavored tobacco products in bringing our students into a lifetime addiction. We need to work together to prioritize solutions to this significant health crisis.
I urge you to join me in this effort and take action by talking with your students, family, etc. about flavored tobacco products and teens. I encourage our elected leaders to protect our children by ending the sale of flavored tobacco products. Our students are worth this important step in protecting their health.
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