A ban on most flavored tobacco in California took effect last year, but a UC San Diego study shows bubble gum, horchata, and chicken-and-waffle-flavored products are just a click away, and possibly enticing a new generation of middle and high school smokers.
As a mother of three, Cynthia Knapp has her finger on the pulse of vaping inside her children's schools.
“When my high schooler enters her restroom on campus, there's many people in the big stall always vaping. There's people vaping openly near the sinks. It's normal, and it's common. It’s very unfortunate when you consider the harm that these products are causing on our young kids," Knapp said.
That's why Knapp, who's also a program manager for Say San Diego's Smoke-Free Project, found UC San Diego' so 's study concerning. It shows online searches for flavored tobacco and vape products skyrocketed 162% after California banned the products last December.
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“Some of them, it looks like, are in California, but not all of those are, " said Eric Leas, Ph.D., who’s the principal investigator of the study published this month.
The findings raise concerns about potential loopholes in policy enforcement, due to an absence of clear-cut regulations, according to Leas.
“What we found in our study is that retailers might be selling online, more like basically exploiting this loophole where consumers are able to pretty easily go online and obtain access to what otherwise should be restricted products," said Leas.
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According to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2.1 million kids in the U.S. currently use e-cigarettes. Nearly 90% of them use flavored tobacco. Here in San Diego, about 25% of kids have reported using e-cigarettes.
“Clearly, the products are being created to market towards a younger population, to hook them on these products long term. One of those vape pods that people will smoke, our youth will smoke, has as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes, and people will go through two, three of those pods per day," said Adrian Kwiatkowski, the coalition manager for San Diegans vs. Big Tobacco.
To help extinguish the loopholes, Leas said the law needs to include flavored tobacco deliveries and internet sales. He also suggests a total internet sales ban, which is something that could help parents protect their kids.
“These sleek devices with their delicious flavors — truly, it's not our kids' fault, right, for being so interested in them. But we as adults, and I think the city, as a governing body, can take steps to protect our kids," Leas said.
In August, San Diego's City Attorney sued two local retail chains for allegedly breaking the city and state bans on flavored tobacco sales.
