Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1175948
an e-cigarette resembling a flash drive, became available and was widely advertised in 2017. Juul Labs says the product is intended for smokers trying to quit; its actions indicate otherwise. In July, hearings by the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy revealed that Juul Labs spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund youth programming. Democratic members of the subcommittee investigating Juul's role in the youth vaping epidemic found the company "deployed a sophisticated program to enter schools and convey its mes- saging directly to teenage children." In one case, Juul Labs paid $134,000 to sponsor a five-week "holistic health education" sum- mer camp in Baltimore that "recruited from grades 3 through 12." Juul's plans also included paying $10,000 to high schools that would "use the Juul-sponsored curriculum" during classes. While you must be 21 to purchase vaping equipment in Cali- fornia, teens are able to obtain products easily. In fact, Breathe California reports, 93.8 percent of students are successful when ordering vaping products online. After the sixth death linked to vaping in September, the Tr ump admini stration announced pl ans to ban f l av ored e-cigarettes. California's Department of Public Health has issued a "stop vaping " advisory. Meanwhile, laws to restrict vaping are making their way through the state Legislature. Sen- ate Bills 38 and 39, sponsored by Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), would ban the sale of flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products in stores and vending machines and make them more difficult to buy online. Twenty- five cities or counties in California have restricted the sale of these products. (e bills would not affect the sale of unflavored e-cigarette products.) Health experts fear that the high concentration of nicotine in vaping liquids can be extremely addictive for teens. Nicotine is known to raise blood pressure, is linked to heart disease, and affects brain development. e heated e-liquids damage lungs, too. ere are still many unknowns about the long-term effects of vaping (see sidebar, above). No t sur pri sin g ly, to b a c c o c omp ani e s are inv e stin g in T H E B R A I N K E E P S developing until about age 25. Using nicotine in adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood and impulse control. Each time a new memory is created or a new skill is learned, stronger connections — or synapses — are built between brain cells. Young people's brains build synapses faster than adult brains. Nicotine changes the way these synapses are formed. Using nicotine in adolescence may also increase risk for future addiction to other drugs. Source: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention The Teen Brain & Nicotine risks of e-cigarette and vaping device use Nicotine use in early adolescence causes changes in the brain that make lifelong addiction much more likely for young e-cig/vape users. Although the overwhelming majority of young people do not use e-cigarettes, the recent increase in use among adolescents is concerning to health professionals. (This does not include cannabis-related products.) Source: Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, Stanford University Ear, eye and throat irritation is common among e-cigarette/vape pen users. The aerosols produced by the chemicals in e-juice enter into the user's lungs unflitered and leave chemical residue and damaged airways. Nicotine is known to have effects on the cardiovascular system. Some recent studies show that acute use of e-cigarette impaired flow-mediated dilation, this suggests that e-cigarettes can lead to cardiovascular diseases. 28 cta.org feature