The Maui News

The state Department of Health is warning companies that make, distribute or sell flavored cartridge- or pod-based e-cigarettes to stop by the end of January or risk facing enforcement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The significant rise in vaping among youths across the nation has prompted the FDA to issue its notification, the department said. The FDA is excluding tobacco or menthol flavors from their restriction and currently is not focusing on refillable e-cigarettes and e-liquid flavors that are popular with youths in Hawaii.

“E-cigarettes and vaping products are unsafe, unregulated and illegal for persons under the age of 21,” DOH Director Bruce Anderson said. “States across the nation are now looking to the FDA for guidance and details on the federal agency’s planned enforcement actions. In the meantime, Hawaii is letting companies know what’s on the horizon.”

The smaller, high-tech e-cigarettes popular with middle and high school students are easy to use and conceal. They resemble thumb drives, computer hot spots or highlighters, and rely on USB ports to charge their batteries. Users do not emit large plumes when they exhale, making the devices easy to use discreetly.

Anderson said that the high concentration of nicotine in the pod-based devices “can negatively affect the developing brain of youths, impairing learning, attention and memory, disrupting sleep and causing mood disorders. Nicotine also primes the developing brain for addiction to other substances.”

The DOH has supported vaping prevention policies since the 2012 legislative session. This year, the DOH will be advocating for increased regulatory authority and supporting the following legislation in the current session:

• A state restriction on flavored tobacco products.

• Additional taxation on e-cigarettes.

• A ban on the shipping and handling of e-cigarettes to individual customers in Hawaii.

DOH is also providing funding for 14 youth intervention organizations in communities in every county. New mass social media campaigns will also launch in February.

For more information, visit HawaiiNoVape.com. To report or get help on potential nicotine poisoning, call the Hawaii Poison Control Center at (800) 222-1222.

To contact the FDA, visit www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/about-center-tobacco-products-ctp/contact-ctp.