Health officials would like e-cigarettes to go up in smoke

It’s time for people to get fired up about e-cigarettes and the dangers they pose, especially to area youngsters, according to presenters at a Shawano-Menominee Counties Board of Health program this week.

Only 12 people turned out for the presentation Monday night at Shawano Community High School, but that did not deter Jamie Bodden, public health officer for Shawano and Menominee counties.

“It would have been great to have had more people come,” she said, “but I appreciate the interest of those that attended.”

The program was intended to draw attention to what organizers said is a growing problem.

According to the 2014 Wisconsin Youth Tobacco Survey, for example, 7 percent of state high school students reported using electronic cigarettes within the 30 days preceding the survey, compared to a national average of 5.4 percent.

The 2014 annual report by the National Institutes of Health also found electronic cigarettes have surpassed traditional smoking in popularity among teens.

E-cigarettes, which first appeared in the U.S. in 2006, often are described as a less dangerous alternative for regular smokers who can’t or don’t want to kick the habit. The battery-powered devices produce vapor infused with potentially addictive nicotine but without the same chemicals and tar of tobacco cigarettes.

“While e-cigarettes may reduce the harm and potential health effects of traditional cigarettes, the juice used still contains nicotine, which is incredibly addictive,” Bodden said.

Electronic cigarettes are considered a tobacco product by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has proposed regulating them, including banning sales to minors. (Ten states permit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.) There is no timetable for final federal rules.

Wendy Vander Zanden, executive director of the Kaukauna-based Community Action for Healthy Living Inc., whose mission is to initiate and promote healthy lifestyles in area communities, noted while there are no federal or state laws regulating electronic cigarettes, some communities have passed ordinances addressing vaping.

Ashwaubenon, for example, last year banned e-cigarette smoking in public places, and Onalaska has also passed a law, Vander Zanden said.

Vander Zanden also dispelled the common e-cigarette myth that the products help people quit smoking, saying there is no scientific evidence to support the claim.

Organizers of Monday’s session also discussed e-cigarette marketing efforts that target young people, similar to tobacco companies’ efforts. Candy-flavored e-cigarettes, for example, are available in cherry, vanilla and lime.

“It’s important for the public to be aware and cognizant of youth access to these products,” Bodden said. “It’s important to keep any tobacco product out minors’ reach, whether it is traditional cigarettes or vapor products.”

Stuart Russ, an associate principal at Shawano Community High School and member of the district’s safety committee, noted the school has a policy on vaping in the student handbook — no tobacco products of any kind allowed on school grounds — but questioned how much access students have to e-cigarettes outside of school.

Electronic cigarettes are available area drug stores, retailers and specialty stores such as the Vapor Shoppe in Shawano.

Cris Campos, co-owner of the Vapor Shoppe in Shawano and Clintonville, said her stores do not allow children younger than 18 to enter unless accompanied by a parent.

“We are pushing very hard not to sell to minors,” said Campos, who also shared a story with the audience about one of her potential customers.

“They were trying to buy a starter kit for a minor that already smokes,” she said. “So to get them off of cigarettes, they were going to buy them a starter kit for electronic cigarettes. So since the kid was under 18, we opted not to sell it to them.”

Working with Vander Zanden’s group, Wisconsin Wins, which describes itself as a science-based, state-level initiative designed to decrease youth access to tobacco products, each year conducts compliance checks of area businesses for tobacco sales to minors.

Shawano County had one of the lowest noncompliance rates (5 percent) in the eight counties surveyed in 2014.

Wisconsin Wins plans to add electronic cigarettes to the list in this year’s survey, Vander Zanden said.

Campos said responsible businesses should not be worried about compliance checks.

“Bring it,” Campos said. “They can come check us. We card. That is fine.”