vaping

READER'S EDITORIAL: GETTING HEALTHY IN 2021 SHOULD INCLUDE REDUCING EXPOSURE TO SECONDHAND SMOKE

By Dana Stevens
 
Photo authorized for use to CASA
 
March 24, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- After a long difficult year that forced us all to alter our daily lives just to stay well, our priority for 2021 should be to continue protecting our health. As we look to improve our diets, start exercise routines, wear our masks, and get vaccinated, let’s make sure we also give equal attention to the air we breathe.
 
Tobacco and marijuana smoke and the aerosol expelled from electronic smoking devices damage the lungs and other organs of users as well as everyone around them. 
 
In 2006, the U.S. Surgeon General reported that there is  “no safe level of exposure to  secondhand smoke.” That same year, the California Air Resources Board designated secondhand smoke as a  “toxic air contaminant.”

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STATE ISSUES WARNING ON DANGEROUS VAPING PRODUCTS SEIZED FROM UNLICENSED CANNABIS SHOPS

Officials Urge Californians to Avoid Unlicensed Cannabis Retailers, as More Than 10,000 Illegal Vape Pens Seized

Source: Calif. Bureau of Cannabis Control

Image: Creative Commons

January 29, 2020 (Sacramento)-- A random sampling of the cannabis products seized from unlicensed retailers during a major enforcement operation in Los Angeles last month were found to contain undisclosed additives, some of them potentially dangerous, and significantly lower amounts of THC than claimed on the label.  Vaping pens containing ingredients linked to sudden respiratory illnesses and deaths were among those seized. 


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BY 3-2 VOTE, COUNTY SUPERVISORS OK E-SMOKING BAN IN UNINCORPORATED AREAS

By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  A model demonstrates an e-cigarette. Credit:  Michael Dorausch Wikimedia Commons.

October 15, 2019 (San Diego) - The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to impose a one-year ban on the sale and distribution of all electronic smoking devices within unincorporated areas of San Diego County.


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COUNTY SUPERVISORS WEIGH RESTRICTIONS ON SMOKING AND VAPING

By Miriam Raftery

October 15, 2019 (San Diego) – Today, County Supervisors will vote on a recommendation by Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Nathan Fletcher that would ask the Chief Administrative Officer to draft a recommended ordinance within 60 days aimed at protecting the public from a “public health crisis” linked to smoking including vaping products and more. The recommendations include restrictions on smoking and e-cigarettes or vaping products that would apply to all unincorporated parts of San Diego County.


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SUPERVISORS WEIGH BAN ON VAPING PRODUCTS; MAYO CLINIC FINDS CHEMICAL BURNS IN LUNGS OF PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED OR DEAD AFTER VAPING

By Miriam Raftery

East County News Service

October 4, 2019 (San Diego) -- County Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Nathan Fletcher are proposing a ban on the sale and distribution of flavored tobacco made for electronic cigarettes, along with a moratorium on the sale and distribution of the e-devices in the county’s unincorporated area. They are encouraging cities in San Diego County to do the same. According to a new report by the Mayo Clinic, lung biopsies reveal damage consistent with chemical burns, leading researchers to suspect chemical additives may be to blame for over 1,000 serious lung injury cases and 18 deaths, all associated with vaping or e-cigarette use.

County public health officials and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control are also advising people to stop vaping, as investigators continue looking into what’s causing a nationwide epidemic of respiratory illnesses among those that use the e-cigarettes or vaping products.


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CHEMICALS SUSPECTED AS VAPING LUNG INJURIES TOP 1,000, WITH 18 DEAD

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Centers for Disease Control

October 3, 2019 (Washington D.C.) – Biopsies of vapers’ damaged lungs reveal that inhaling chemicals through vaping is causing chemical burns, the Mayo Clinic reports, suggesting oils may not be the primary cause of serious lung damage and deaths linked to e-cigarettes and other vaping products. Meanwhile the Centers for Disease Control reports the number of serious injuries linked to vaping has soared to 1,080  including more than 100 in California, with 18 people dead as a result.


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VAPING CRACKDOWN WIDENS: WALMART BANS SALES, TV NETWORKS BAN ADS

By Miriam Raftery
 
Image: Centers for Disease Control
 
September 21, 2019 (San Diego) – Major TV and entertainment companies have announced bans on advertising for vaping (e-cigarette) products after a sudden and serious lung illness has hospitalized 530 Americans and  killed seven people.

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READER’S EDITORIAL: IT’S TIME TO STOP THE MARKETING AND SALES OF VAPING DEVICES AND FLAVORED PRODUCTS USED IN THEM

We applaud the 26 California jurisdictions that have taken these steps and encourage El Cajon to join them.” – Dana Stevens

By Dana Stevens, Community Action Service & Advocacy (CASA)

Photo: Chance Ammirata shared these photos on Twitter of his collapsed lung and lung spots, which doctors attributed to vaping. The 18-year-old Florida student underwent emergency surgery and was told he can no longer do cross country running or scuba diving.

September 20, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) -- Hundreds of people have been hospitalized across the country, including 12 here in San Diego, by a respiratory illness linked to vaping that has claimed eight lives – sadly this number seems to increase daily. If emergency rooms were facing this rush of illness from any other source, it would have been pulled from the shelves within days. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the government agency that regulates tobacco products, describes an outbreak as when two or more people get the same illness from the same food or drink contaminant. Food producers recall their product from the marketplace when the products are mislabeled or causes illness. Vaping devices, the flavored liquid used in those devices, and the liquid form of THC are not regulated by the FDA.  


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GOVERNOR TARGETS VAPING WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER, BUT APPEALS TO LEGISLATURE FOR HELP

By Ben Christopher | Calmatters

Photo credit:  https://www.ecigclick.co.uk/

CALmatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  A man vaping with an e-cigarette. Photo via Wikimedia Commons

September 18, 2019 (Sacramento) - California lawmakers ended the Legislative session without doing much on vaping. Now Gov. Gavin Newsom is stepping in.

On Monday morning, the governor signed an executive order which he said would be “pushing the envelope” to regulate the burgeoning e-cigarette industry despite a lack of new legal authority from the state Assembly and Senate.


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EL CAJON TO WEIGH VAPING RESTRICTIONS OCT. 8; FEDS ANNOUNCE BAN ON FLAVORED E-CIGARETTES

By Miriam Raftery
 
Photo: Young woman vaping, image via Pixabay
 
September 11, 2019 (El Cajon) – El Cajon’s city council will be considering a ban or other restrictions on sales of vaping products, such as banning flavored vapes, at its October 8th meeting at 3 p.m.  
 
Councilman Gary Kendrick, who asked that the issue be added to the agenda, told  ECM, “I may take some heat for this, but it’s the right thing to do.”

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STOP ALL VAPING, CDC ADVISES AFTER DEATH TOLL CLIMBS; VICTIMS INCLUDE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO VAPED NICOTINE ALONE AND/OR MARIJUANA

By Miriam Raftery

September 9, 2019 (Washington D.C.) -- With 450 cases of severe lung illness and five deaths tied to vaping reported nationwide, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control are advising everyone to avoid all vaping (e-cigarettes)– especially young people and pregnant women. The advisory includes all vaping including nicotine, marijuana, and other substances.


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HOW MUCH MORE DAMAGE WILL BE DONE BEFORE UNDERAGE VAPING IS PREVENTED?

By Dr. Joshua Mansour

September 9, 2019 (San Diego) - The FDA is allowing e-cigarette makers until 2022 to submit their plans for preventing underage access to their products.  But will that be too late?

The underage vaping problem has escalated in recent years, and some consequences are starting to arise. While these devices were and still are marketed as “being safer”, they can lead to nicotine addiction, harmful side effects of frequent nicotine use, irritation to the lining of the lungs and now as shown by countless recent cases, hospitalization.


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READER'S EDITORIAL: RECENT VAPING DEATH MAKES FDA THREE-YEAR PLAN FOR YOUTH RESTRICTIONS FEEL LIKE A MILLENIUM

How much more damage will be done before the fix is in?

 

By Joshua Mansour, M.D.

 

Photo via Creative Commons

August 27, 2019 (San Diego) - Despite the recent vaping death, the FDA is still allowing e-cigarette makers until 2022 to submit their plans for preventing underage access to their products.  But is that too late?  While e-cigarettes and vaping were initially intended to help adults quit smoking traditional cigarettes, they have managed to entice younger individuals to pick up this dangerous habit.  The colorful packaging, different flavors, and seemingly harmless. 


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149 PATIENTS HAVE SEVERE LUNG ILLNESS AFTER VAPING, CDC AND FDA WARN: CASES INCLUDE CALIFORNIA

By Miriam Raftery

August 23, 2019 (San Diego) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has issued a press release warning the public about a cluster of pulmonary illnesses possibly related to e-cigarette use or “vaping,” primarily among adolescents and young adults.   At least 149 cases have been reported by 15 states, including California from June 28 through August 20. 


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VAPING MARIJUANA IS MORE HARMFUL THAN SMOKING IT, STUDY FINDS

 

By Miriam Raftery

East County News Service

December 23, 2018 (San Diego) -- As the use of e-cigarettes – both for inhalation of nicotine and marijuana – becomes more popular among adolescents and teenagers, according to the 2016 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), the medical community is raising concerns over their harmful health effects.


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CHANGES APRIL 1ST FOR TAXES ON CIGARETTES AND ELECTRONIC VAPING DEVICES

 

Source: State Board of Equalization

March 30, 2017 (Sacramento) -- California voters approved Proposition 56, which increased the excise tax rate on cigarettes and expanded the definition of “tobacco products” to include any type of tobacco, nicotine, little cigars, and electronic cigarettes sold in combination with nicotine.


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GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL RAISING SMOKING AGE TO 21, ALSO APPROVING OTHER SMOKING RESTRICTIONS

 

By Miriam Raftery

May 5, 2016 (Sacramento) – California has become the second state in the nation (after Hawaii) to raise the smoking age to 21 years of age. Governor Jerry Brown signed a package of bills into law that also bans sale of e-cigarette products to youths and prohibits use of electronic cigarettes in public places such as restaurants or theaters, as well as at most areas in public schools including charters.

El Cajon Councilman Gary Kendrick praised the Governor’s action. “That’s going to save millions of lives,” said Kendrick, who authored El Cajon’s measures to restrict e-cigarettes and smoking in public places. The El Cajon Council, at Kendrick’s urging, also passed a resolution in support of raising California’s smoking age from 18 to 21.


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FEDS CRACKDOWN ON E-CIGARETTES , HOOKAHS AND OTHER OTHER SMOKING ITEMS

 

By Miriam Raftery

May 5, 2016 (Washington D.C.) –Today the U.S. Food & Drug Administration announced that it will regulate electronic cigarettes and hookahs and ingredients for such devices like tobacco products.  Pipe tobacco and cigars are also included in the regulations, which will require pre-approval of all such products in the future.

The FDA announcement calls the action a “milestone in consumer protection.”


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HUNTER PUFFS TO SUPPORT VAPING ON PLANES

 

By Miriam Raftery

February 16, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed an amendment that would impose a federal ban on vaping or e-cigarettes on all airlines in the U.S..  Congressman Duncan Hunter, who took over $10,000 in tobacco industry campaign contributions this election cycle, opposed the amendment–even lighting up during the hearing and puffing a cloud of vapor to make his point.


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