With reports swirling that the White House may partially back down from banning most flavored e-cigarettes, new research suggests that ban might be warranted because of how teenagers use the products.
According to the results of a study funded by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 57.3% of high schoolers and 31.1% of middle schoolers who used e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days chose menthol- or mint-flavored vaping products.
A recent report suggested that the Trump administration is feeling pressure from President Donald Trump's campaign to exempt menthol- and mint-flavored e-cigarettes from the vaping ban. That would leave those two flavors and tobacco flavored e-cigarettes as the only legal options for users.
A closer look at the data:
- 72.2% of high school students and 59.2% of middle school students who use e-cigarettes used flavored ones.
- Various fruit-flavored e-cigarettes are the most popular among high school (66.1%) and middle school (67.7%) students who use flavored vaping products.
- Vaping products flavored with candy, desserts, or other sweets were the preferred option for 34.9% of high school users and 38.3% of middle school users.
- Other flavors in use include chocolate (1.8% of high schoolers, 8.1% of middle schoolers), alcoholic drinks (2.3% of high schoolers, 4.4% of middle schoolers), and a broad other category (8.8% of high schoolers, 9.4% of middle schoolers).
- 25.4% of high schoolers and 38.1% of middle schoolers who used e-cigarettes opted for unflavored products.
More than three dozen deaths have been attributed to e-cigarette use, according to data from the CDC. As of Oct. 29, 1,888 lung injuries had been reported due to e-cigarettes.
The government-funded study was conducted from Feb. 15-May 24 among 19,018 students. No margin of error was given.