By Ilan Shapiro MD, FAAP FACHE, Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Medical Director of Wellness and Health
As a pediatrician, I have seen the terrible consequences of tobacco use in both my patients as in their families. Remember that tobacco is the leading cause of preventable diseases – like cancer – and deaths. That is why, also as a pediatrician, I am dismayed at the alarming number of young people who start using e-cigarettes because they are “not smoking” when in reality, these high-nicotine tobacco products are highly addictive and harmful to health.
Currently, Los Angeles City Councilors have the opportunity to eliminate the sale of flavored tobacco products – including e-cigarettes – and thus reduce the risk that our children and young people start using them.
For decades, the tobacco industry has disproportionately promoted its products in communities with limited income and resources. He has used elements of our culture in images and advertising messages to specifically increase his Latino clientele. In California, the density of stores selling tobacco products is much higher in predominantly Latino areas compared to the general population.
Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke have had a devastating effect on the health of our community. Cancer, heart disease, and stroke are among the top five causes of death among Latinos. The common denominator among these conditions is that they can all be caused by tobacco smoking.
As their customers die, tobacco companies have to get new consumers. And they know well that the consumption of electronic cigarettes increases the risk of young people using traditional cigarettes. Tobacco products available in more than 13, 500 flavors are the hook with which they intentionally hook children and young people to a possible addiction for life.
Around 3.6 million of young people currently use electronic cigarettes. Seven of each 10 young people point out that they consume electronic cigarettes “because they come in flavors that I like”. Flavors such as horchata, jamaica and tamarind that are undoubtedly part of the strategy to attract Latino youth.
Menthol is particularly harmful because it is scientifically proven that it facilitates the initiation of the consumption of tobacco products in young people and makes it difficult to quit smoking.
In fact, the Food and Drug Administration announced in April that it plans to ban mentholated cigarettes and all flavors in cigars to help significantly reduce initiation youth, increase the chances that smokers will quit, and address health inequalities experienced by communities that have been the target audience for the tobacco industry. However, the process could take years.
Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of at least 13 different types of cancer – including stomach and liver cancer, whose incidence rates are higher among Latinos than among whites. Furthermore, smoking is responsible for 80% of all lung cancer deaths. In California, smoking will kill 50. 000 people just this year. We cannot wait for tobacco to harm the health and kill more people.
It is for this reason that public health organizations such as the American Society Against Cancer Action Network Cancer urge the Los Angeles Council to do whatever it can to put the health and well-being of our communities, especially our children, above the interests and profits of the tobacco industry. We ask Councilors to pass a comprehensive ordinance that eliminates the sale of flavored tobacco products, including electronic devices, shisha – also known as hookah – with flavorings, cigars, and menthol cigarettes.