By ALLIE VUGRINCIC

Staff writer

YOUNGSTOWN — Multiple national and state health agencies have strengthened warnings against using vapes, or electronic cigarettes, as more illnesses have been connected to the devices.

In Ohio, 28 cases of vaping-related illness have been confirmed — including one in Mahoning County — with 30 more still under investigation, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Vapes are e-cigarettes that provide aerosolized nicotine and flavors to users through a vapor or “fog.” The devices, which range from the size and shape of a traditional cigarette to bulkier MODs, or modified vaporizers, have been on the market since 2007. The FDA only began regulating e-cigarettes in 2016.

Though the CDC said the specific chemical exposure(s) causing lung injuries remains unknown, the organization continues to warn e-cigarette users against purchasing “off the street” tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or CBD oil vaping products.

The Food and Drug Administration also released a statement last week updating a consumer alert telling the public not to use vaping products containing THC, which is the primary psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.

“(W)hile no one compound or ingredient has emerged as a singular culprit, we do know that THC is present in most of the samples being tested. Because of this, the agency believes it is prudent to stop using vaping products that contain THC or that have had any substances added to them, including those purchased from retail establishments,” reads the FDA statement.

INJURY AND DEATH

The latest figures from the CDC indicate 1,080 lung injury cases associated with e-cigarette use in 48 states and one U.S. territory were reported as of Oct. 1.

Eighteen deaths have been confirmed nationwide.

Of 889 patients with age and sex data on file, the CDC reports 70 percent are male and more than 80 percent are under the age of 35.

According to the CDC 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey, an estimated 3.6 million U.S. teens used e-cigarettes last year, representing one in five high school students and one in 20 middle schoolers.

According to Mahoning County PEP surveys, administered to students in 7th, 9th, and 11th grades, 11.7 percent of high school juniors and 4.11 percent of high school freshman report using an e-cigarette “almost every day” — and Angela DiVito, executive director of Coalition for a Drug-Free Mahoning County, said those numbers are only going up, putting the county above national averages.

“It’s frightening to see how fast our kids here latched on to vaping,” DiVito said. She said e-cigarette use is “absolutely” an epidemic among area youth. “Especially given what we’re seeing now and the health risks being as serious as they are,” said DiVito.

BUSINESSMAN’S VIEW

Chris Vince, owner of Vapors Dream in Girard, said “epidemic” was a strong word.

He said according to CDC reports, many kids who vape say they were already smoking cigarettes. Vince also said the CDC reports surveyed people up to age 25 — an age he said isn’t really youth.

“Most people start e-cigarettes to try to quit their smoking habits,” said Vince. He said customer testimonials about successful quitting of combustion cigarettes cover the walls at his store, which sells mostly high-end vapor products. One customer said he smoked for 45 years and quit using strawberry flavored e-liquid.

Vince said he doesn’t sell JUULs, an easily concealable, USB-sized vape brand which is popular among teens. Like most other vapes, JUULs give off very little smell, making them less easily detected than traditional cigarettes or marijuana.

“One of the things we look at with the trending of why things appeal to young people is how easy it is for them to get caught doing it,” said DiVito. “There’s really very little smell.”

She said if parents don’t know the “slight aroma” of vapor, it’s hard to recognize.

DiVito said parents can also help prevent youth e-cigarette use by starting the conversation with young children and setting an expectation of healthy habits.

“As the child grows, finish that conversation — that includes not vaping, not using other drugs,” said DiVito. She said parents who firmly establish they will not tolerate drug or e-cigarette use give their children an “out” from peer pressure.

“Then all they have to say is, ‘oh no, you know my parents will be so mad, you know I can’t do that.’ It takes the pressure off them and puts it on you.”

LEGISLATIVE PUSH

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine last week announced a long-term effort to curb youth vaping by supporting a legislative push to ban flavored e-cigarette products.

“We have two separate, but related problems in connection to vaping. First, we are facing deaths and very serious medical problems caused by vaping. The second problem is the dramatic increase in youth vaping – 135 percent increase in high school students vaping since 2017 alone,” said DeWine in a news release.

As part of the biennial budget, the sale of tobacco and vaping products to anyone under 21 is banned beginning Oct. 17, 90 days after the budget was signed into law. A tax also went into effect last week, charging distributors 10 cents per milliliter of vaping products.

Vince said anti-vaping groups failed to mention they’re leaving “the original killers, cigarettes,” on the shelves.

“We’re villainizing a product that has helped so many adult smokers transition to a product that is so much safer,” said Vince. He said in almost all cases of reported e-cigarette related illness, patients admitted to using “illegal black-market” THC products.

“We have over 1,000 customers and we’ve never had an issue over six years we’ve been open,” said Vince.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.