Youth e-cigarette use has skyrocketed to what the Surgeon General and FDA have called “epidemic” levels. According to new data from the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey (2019 NYTS), e-cigarette use among high school students nationwide increased to 27.5% in 2019 compared to 11.7% in 2017 and 20.8% in 2018. Altogether 5 million middle and high school students now use e-cigarettes.

The main cause of the problem is JUUL, a sleek, high-tech e-cigarette that looks like a USB flash drive – and is small and easy to hide, comes in sweet flavors that entice kids and delivers a powerful nicotine hit.

The time is now to end the youth e-cigarette epidemic by prohibiting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. We also call for the New Jersey legislature to address the long-standing public health crisis caused by menthol cigarettes and other flavored products such as cigarillos by prohibiting the sale of those products as well. This will disproportionately benefit New Jersey’s African American communities by reducing smoking and saving lives. We urge you to make sure no communities are left behind.

All of these flavored products are undermining the nation’s overall efforts to reduce youth tobacco use and putting a new generation of kids at risk of nicotine addiction and the serious health harms that result from tobacco use.

New Jersey has always been regarded as a national leader in passing and implementing impactful, effective policies that are proven to prevent and reduce tobacco use. We urge the legislature to continue that leadership by amending and passing legislation to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products at all retailers without exceptions.

American Heart Association