The News.Keeping you up to date on the most recent information about vaping, marijuana research, drug abuse, Utah's Prop 2 compromise and more.
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Utah Health Department Limits Nicotine Levels In Vape Pods To 3%
In July 2021, The Utah Department of Health was considering a regulation to limit the amount of nicotine in vape pods to 3 percent. Prior to this rule, vape shops and local gas stations sold vape pods, smaller than the size of a quarter, with concentrated nicotine levels equal to an entire pack of cigarettes. To make matters worse, retailers advertise these pods directly to kids with bright colors, fruit flavors, and bargain prices.
In the lead up to their committee vote, the health department began receiving thousands of emails from the tobacco lobby. Drug Safe Utah rallied concerned citizens and fought back. An email campaign was used to contact 175,000 individuals, inviting them to send their own comments to the Department of Health. In the end, between emailed comments, letters to legislators and social media influence, Drug Safe Utah and its allies were able to influence the decision and make the new 3 percent rule a reality.
In the lead up to their committee vote, the health department began receiving thousands of emails from the tobacco lobby. Drug Safe Utah rallied concerned citizens and fought back. An email campaign was used to contact 175,000 individuals, inviting them to send their own comments to the Department of Health. In the end, between emailed comments, letters to legislators and social media influence, Drug Safe Utah and its allies were able to influence the decision and make the new 3 percent rule a reality.
PRESS RELEASE:
SUPPORT 3% E-CIGARETTE NICOTINE RULE, CITIZENS GROUP URGES
SALT LAKE CITY — Targeting big tobacco companies, Coalition for Tobacco Free Youth is calling on all Utahns to urge Utah Department of Health officials to prohibit tobacco retailers in Utah from selling a manufacturer-sealed electronic cigarette product with a nicotine concentration greater than three percent nicotine by weight.
Today’s nicotine content limit is five percent nicotine by weight, but advocates for tobacco-free teens want Utahns to let UDOH know they support the less potent three percent nicotine rule.
“It is paramount that we do all we can to protect Utah youth ages 13 to 18 from vaping products with high nicotine levels,” said Michael Siler, president of Coalition for Tobacco Free Youth. “The simple action of emailing tobaccorulescomments@utah.gov and telling officials that you support the three percent rule, which is amendment filing 53559, can help our youth immeasurably.
“Driven by financial profits, the vape industry and retail merchants are intensely targeting the Utah Department of Health officials today with their comments to keep Utah’s e-cigarette nicotine levels at the higher five percent level.”
A manufacturer sealed electronic cigarette product is an electronic cigarette that is sold prefilled with an electronic cigarette substance, such as nicotine in Juul type pods.
“One small, five percent Juul pod contains the nicotine equivalent of one pack of 20 cigarettes,” said Siler. “In Utah alone, nearly 31,000 or 12.4 percent of youth ages 13 to 18 use vaping products on a regular basis.”
Juul with high nicotine levels is the e-cigarette brand preferred by 25.4 percent of middle and high school students in Utah today.
“The rise in e-cigarette use by adolescents is attributed to Juul and similar products because they can be used discreetly and have a high-nicotine content,” he said. “It’s no secret that an electronic cigarette with a higher concentration of nicotine has a greater likelihood of being more addictive.
“When you email your comments, write something like ‘Please Adopt Amendments to R384-14 Set Forth in Proposed Amendments Filing 53559’. That alone will go a long way to helping protect Utah’s youth.”
To learn more about the addictive nature of nicotine and read the UDOH’s proposed rule, visit stopbigtobacco.org.
Today’s nicotine content limit is five percent nicotine by weight, but advocates for tobacco-free teens want Utahns to let UDOH know they support the less potent three percent nicotine rule.
“It is paramount that we do all we can to protect Utah youth ages 13 to 18 from vaping products with high nicotine levels,” said Michael Siler, president of Coalition for Tobacco Free Youth. “The simple action of emailing tobaccorulescomments@utah.gov and telling officials that you support the three percent rule, which is amendment filing 53559, can help our youth immeasurably.
“Driven by financial profits, the vape industry and retail merchants are intensely targeting the Utah Department of Health officials today with their comments to keep Utah’s e-cigarette nicotine levels at the higher five percent level.”
A manufacturer sealed electronic cigarette product is an electronic cigarette that is sold prefilled with an electronic cigarette substance, such as nicotine in Juul type pods.
“One small, five percent Juul pod contains the nicotine equivalent of one pack of 20 cigarettes,” said Siler. “In Utah alone, nearly 31,000 or 12.4 percent of youth ages 13 to 18 use vaping products on a regular basis.”
Juul with high nicotine levels is the e-cigarette brand preferred by 25.4 percent of middle and high school students in Utah today.
“The rise in e-cigarette use by adolescents is attributed to Juul and similar products because they can be used discreetly and have a high-nicotine content,” he said. “It’s no secret that an electronic cigarette with a higher concentration of nicotine has a greater likelihood of being more addictive.
“When you email your comments, write something like ‘Please Adopt Amendments to R384-14 Set Forth in Proposed Amendments Filing 53559’. That alone will go a long way to helping protect Utah’s youth.”
To learn more about the addictive nature of nicotine and read the UDOH’s proposed rule, visit stopbigtobacco.org.
Vaping debate returns in Utah; nicotine levels could be cut
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — It was one of the hottest issues in Utah—then COVID hit.
Now the vaping debate is back, over a new proposed state health department rule that would cut nicotine in a “manufacturer sealed electronic cigarette product” from 5% to 3%.
Attorney Walter Plumb, head of Drug Safe Utah, said he supports the lower nicotine level to protect minors.
Click here to watch the video
Now the vaping debate is back, over a new proposed state health department rule that would cut nicotine in a “manufacturer sealed electronic cigarette product” from 5% to 3%.
Attorney Walter Plumb, head of Drug Safe Utah, said he supports the lower nicotine level to protect minors.
Click here to watch the video
Juul Pod = Pack of Cigarettes
On the evening of March 4th a postcard by Drug Safe Utah with a real Juul vape pod and cigarette package was given to each Utah State Senator with a message to pass Senate Bill 37 (SB 37) with .87 excise tax on vape pods.
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The CDC Identifies the Likely Culprit of Vape-Related Lung Illnesses
In the latest vaping health-scare update, the CDC released new laboratory findings that suggest vitamin E acetate is the "potential chemical of concern." The CDC announced that it analyzed fluid samples taken from the lungs of 29 patients in 10 states, and vitamin E acetate was found in all 29 samples. Previous research from the CDC found that vitamin E, when inhaled, may interfere with normal lung function.
Trump backs off flavored vape ban he once touted
One last thing was needed: Trump’s sign-off. But on Nov. 4, the night before a planned morning news conference, the president balked. Briefed on a flight to a Lexington, Ky., campaign rally, he refused to sign the one-page “decision memo,” saying he didn’t want to move forward with a ban he had once backed, primarily at his wife’s and daughter’s urging, because he feared it would lead to job losses, said a Trump adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal deliberations.
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People are vaping a deadly substance along with THC. Why isn't vitamin E acetate illegal?
States "should be banning vitamin E acetate. No question," said cannabis industry executive Tyrell Towle, who is on a Colorado government advisory committee. "There's no reason to use cutting agents because you can make high-quality vape cartridges using only cannabis-derived ingredients."
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ER doctor calls for kids to stop vaping, as CDC points to potential culprit behind illnesses
"I've actually had patients, very young kids, teenagers, they come in and when I listen to their lungs, it sounds like you're taking a piece of paper and crunching it together," said Dr. Janette
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Ohio man charged in high school students' overdose of heroin-laced vape pens, police say
An Ohio man was arrested in West Virginia Thursday after heroin-laced vape pens sent two high school students to the hospital in a 24-hour period, police said.
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How Vaping Snuck Up on Regulators
When President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009, it gave government regulators an important new weapon in its battle against Big Tobacco.
Vaping Illness Cases Rise Again, to 2,172, CDC says
The number of vaping-related illnesses across the country increased again this week, though the jump in cases was smaller than in previous weeks.
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Teen Vaping: What You Need To Know
Use of JUUL and other highly addictive e-cigarettes is skyrocketing among young people
Utah doctor: Youths often can’t tell real vaping cartridges from black market
Vaping-related illnesses could be ‘early phases of an epidemic,’ University of Utah doctor says
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In our opinion: There are hundreds of vaping-related illness cases nationwide. The time for action has come
The danger is that young people are trying these products without knowing these facts, unwittingly addicting themselves to nicotine and perhaps other harmful substances contained in the vape juice. The FDA estimates 5 million minors, mostly of high school age, have used e-cigarettes recently, and that as many as 25% of high school students nationwide have used them within the last month, a figure 5% higher than the year before.
He went from hiking enthusiast to ‘on death’s door’ within days. Doctors blamed vaping.
Within days, Alexander Mitchell had gone from being a 20-year-old hiking enthusiast to being kept alive by two machines forcing air into and out of his lungs and oxygenating his blood outside of his body.
Talks are underway to change Utah’s unique requirement that marijuana be sold in special blister packs
Medical cannabis advocates have been talking with legislative leaders about getting rid of a requirement that buds and leaves be packaged in "blister packs."
Reported cases of lung disease among vape users in Utah grows to 21
The Utah Department of Health has announced a drastic increase in health issues possibly caused by vaping.
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Vapers seek relief from nicotine addiction in — wait for it — cigarettes
One Juul pod, which provides about 200 puffs, contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. On stressful days, McClain could finish a pod in three hours — and as he and others figure out just how potent these and other e-cigarettes are, many want out.
Appeals board questions why only eight Utah marijuana growers picked for new program
Utah’s medical marijuana licensing process was called into question by a state regulatory appeals board which said the state may have erred in choosing only eight growers for the program set to launch next year.
Surgeon General Warns Pregnant Women and Teenagers Not to Smoke or Vape Marijuana
The United States surgeon general on Thursday issued a public warning that smoking or vaping marijuana is dangerous for pregnant women and their developing babies.
Utah moves to scrap state-run pot dispensary system
Utah legislators were moving Thursday to scrap a planned state-run medical marijuana dispensary system after county attorneys said it would put public employees at risk of being prosecuted under federal drug laws.
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