Misguided Effort to Protect Kids Ignores State Data

Governor Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) recently vetoed legislation that would have prohibited localities from imposing their own regulations on tobacco and vapor products. In his veto message, Gov. DeWine discusses healthcare costs attributed to smoking and youth use of flavored tobacco products, yet ignores data finding youth vaping is declining and flavors are not the reason for youth e-cigarette use.

Currently, Bexley and Toledo ban the retail sale of flavored e-cigarettes. In December, the Columbus City Council passed a comprehensive ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco and vapor products, including menthol cigarettes. Most recently, the mayor of Cleveland has called for a ban on flavored tobacco and vapor products.

For the past few years, opponents of tobacco and vapor products have launched a localized assault on city councils, convincing local lawmakers to ban the retail sale of flavored tobacco and vape products. Unfortunately, these opponent organizations do not stop at the local level. In fact, in the five states with current statewide flavor bans, all saw localized flavor bans prior to full state prohibition.

Gov. DeWine is already a fan of a statewide ban on flavored vapes. In an October 2019 press conference, DeWine pointed to the increase in youth vaping from 2016 to 2019, citing national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK). As a result, he called for lawmakers and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban flavored e-liquids.

It is true that nationally, youth vaping seems to have peaked in 2019. Of course, organizations such as CTFK are continuing to confuse the public on the data which shows youth vaping has dramatically declined in recent years. In his recent veto message, the Ohio governor did not even acknowledge the decline in youth vaping over the past few years.

Worse, if the governor cares about Ohio youth, he should look to state specific data. According to the Ohio Healthy Youth Environments Survey (OHYES), in the 2020-21 school year, only 12.5 percent of Ohio youth reported past-month use of vapor products. This was a 20.4 percent decline from the2018-19 school year when 15.7 percent reported past-month e-cigarette use. Moreover, the introduction and use of e-cigarettes among youth has not led to an increase in combustible cigarette use. In 2020-21, only 3.7 percent of Ohio youth reported smoking a cigarette in the past month—one of the lowest levels recorded. 

Again, citing national data in his veto message, DeWine points to data indicating that youth are using flavored products, but he ignores state and other national data, examining why youth are vaping.

According to the 2020-21 OHYES, among Ohio youth that reported ever using a vapor product, 46.9 percent reported using them because a friend had used them, 38.6 percent cited “other” as a reason for use and 27.2 percent reported vaping because they were bored. Less than one-fourth (22.2 percent) of Ohio youth reported trying e-cigarettes because of flavors.

This is similar to national data. According to the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey, among middle and high school students who had reported past-month e-cigarette use, 43.4 percent reported using them because they were feeling “anxious, stressed, or depressed,” compared to 13 percent who reported using them because of flavors. 

Moreover, lawmakers in the Buckeye State should be wary of statewide flavored e-cigarette bans because they have led to increases in combustible cigarette smoking among young adults. Between 2020 and 2021, smoking rates among adults aged 18 to 24 years old decreased, on average by 19.7 percent. Yet, three out of four states with active flavor bans in 2021 saw increases in young adult smoking rates. 

Given that some organizations will continue to push for a full statewide ban on flavored tobacco and vapor products, lawmakers must be informed of the true data and not be misguided by efforts to “protect the children,” but also mislead the adults. Youth vaping is down in Ohio, as well as nationwide, and youth smoking is at record lows. Prohibitive policies that would restrict adult access to alternatives to smoking are not needed in the Buckeye State.

Lindsey Stroud is Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance’s Consumer Center.