Editorial: New law can help curb youth vaping

And just like that, Hawaii has a new law that aims to snuff out the alarming high rate of youth vaping, using high taxes as the major means of cessation. This bold public-health move is welcome, given the concerning trends, and goes well past unsuccessful attempts in recent years to curb e-cigarettes, such as banning of flavored vape products.

On Tuesday, Senate Bill 975 was signed into law: classifying e-cigarettes and e-liquids as tobacco products — and subjecting them to tight restrictions and higher taxes; previously, no tobacco tax was imposed on e-cigs and e-liquids. Starting July 1, it will be a crime to ship vaping products into this state without a valid Hawaii retail tobacco permit or wholesale license; and come Jan. 1, all vaping products will be taxed at a wholesale rate of 70%.

This dramatic escalation against vaping is needed to combat the rapidly growing use of electronic smoking devices and e-liquids, particularly in Hawaii. This state has the third-highest e-cig usage rate in the nation, with 1 in 3 public high-school students and more than 1 in 6 public middle-school students saying they vape regularly.

But even as vaping has grown in popularity, so has clarity on its addictive and health risks. The U.S. surgeon general in 2018 declared e-cigarette use among youth “an epidemic” and a significant public health concern. Most e-cigarettes and e-liquids contain nicotine, which can harm the developing brain and is the addictive drug in regular cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products. So clearly, the younger that smokers get hooked on vapes, the more lucrative it is for vape product manufacturers. That’s why the flavored e-liquids are so insidious: They’re particularly appealing to teens and young adults, with bubblegum and fruity scents and tastes that seem innocuous and harmless.

But they are not. The American Lung Association expresses deep concern about the evolving evidence against e-cigarettes, citing studies that the products’ two primary ingredients — propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin — are toxic to cells and that the more ingredients in an e-liquid, the greater the toxicity. Also, vaping produces a number of dangerous chemicals including acetaldehyde, acrolein and formaldehyde; these aldehydes can cause lung disease, as well as heart disease.

Imagine inhaling these chemicals into the lungs, and the damage to the human body over many years — decades, if the vaper gets hooked in the teen years. E-cigs are now the most common form of smoking among young people in the U.S., surpassing conventional tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars and hookahs. Nationally, from 2013 to 2018, e-cigarette use among high school students soared from 4.5% to 20.8%, according to the Institute for Health &Aging at UC-San Francisco (UCSF).

Hawaii’s breakthrough anti-vape law should make it harder, and more expensive, for Hawaii’s youth to sustain a bad habit. And since the health problems of today’s youth will invariably become the public-health burdens of tomorrow, preventing e-cig use is good policy.

That’s supported by a 2022 UCSF institute study, which found that e-cig use costs the U.S. $15 billion annually in health care expenditures — with annual cost per vaper averaging $2,000-plus more than for a non-tobacco user.

As for raising the cost of vaping here to disincentivize users, the University of Hawaii Student Health Advisory Council had it right in testifying on SB 975: “Taxation will act as a deterrent toward youth and those with lower socioeconomic status that are disproportionately affected along with people of color. The taxation on tobacco products as well as providing tobacco education and cessation programs without monetary penalties for youth, is imperative if we are committed to protecting the health and well-being of our communities.”

The state will need to stay on top of enforcement and keep track of the new law’s progress over the next few years. Let’s hope the trends of usage, especially among teens, drop significantly. Vapers might not appreciate it now — but being priced out of the habit will pay off with better health, and lower health-care costs.