E-Cigs And Their Future

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The Food and Drug Administration is looking at changes to the e-cigarette market.

It’s working to crack down on sales of flavored e-cigarette products.

The FDA says that’s because e-cigs are highly addictive and very popular with minors.

Juul is considered the ‘hottest e-cig’ out there, carrying over 70% of that market, but new regulations and more health awareness might change that.

Seven out of every ten e-cigarettes sold are Juuls.

It has a reputation to taste good and flavor is what experts believe is drawing teens in big numbers.

“There is classic tobacco. Creme brulee, Classic menthol, There’s mint. There’s mango. There’s fruit. There’s Virginia tobacco. There’s different flavors. They’re fairly new and we actually sell a pretty good bit of them and it’s mostly to the younger generations,” says Fastbreak store manager, Shelly Williams.

“They’re easy to carry and they are very addictive and so if you see other people using them, then oh, ‘I’ve got to go get one, as well.’ And they target teens with their flavors. Mango, cherry, any kind of bubble gum they have, and so that kind of draws them to it because they’re marketed,” says Pediatric Healthier You Clinic Director at Children’s Health Center of Columbus, Will McDow.

The addictive quality and growing popularity with teens, are two reasons why the FDA says there are plans to ban sales of most flavored e-cigs at convenience stores and gas stations.

Williams says if that happens, people will still find a way to get what they want.

“You’re just fueling them to go to certain markets where you’re trying to sell it to. I guess, you’re trying to get it out of the convenient stores and put it in the hands of somebody else, but the flavors, I mean, it is what it is. If they want it, they’re going to get it and if they can’t go to a convenience store and go one minute down the road, they’re going to go that one minute down the road to get it, if they want it bad enough.”

McDow says the same flavor that’s attracting teens is also the thing that can cause damage.

“The flavoring causes lung damage and the aerosol after you breathe out the e-cigarette, remains on the lungs and so we’re seeing long term respiratory problems and lung disease.”

McDow says one Juul has the same amount of nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.

“Nicotine is nicotine. It doesn’t matter the vessel. It’s still going to affect you the same way, whether it’s technology in a USB drive, like the Juul’s, or a traditional cigarette. It’s still going to be that very addictive quality.”

The FDA says the restriction wouldn’t apply to mint flavors because menthol cigarettes are sold.

Online restrictions are also being considered.