The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Surgeon General recently recognized that we are in the midst of a youth vaping epidemic — a fact we know well in Hawaii as youth vaping rates are now higher than the national average. We should be very concerned, especially considering the growing body of human evidence that vaping is anything but harmless.

Of particular concern are the candy-flavored vape products that are hooking our youth. The highly concentrated nicotine in e-cigarettes is a direct threat to the developing brain. It interferes with thinking, behavior and impulse control, and puts kids at greater risk for anxiety and depression.

Vaping doubles the risk of heart attacks, reduces insulin sensitivity and irritates the lungs, causing inflammation and airway resistance. Secondhand vape triggers asthma attacks in kids with asthma. This year, let’s support legislation to prohibit the use of flavors that hook our kids on tobacco products, including vape liquids.

Forrest Batz, Pharm.D.

Keaau, Hawaii island

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