Because of the rising number of children and teens using electronic cigarettes, Flavored vape juices may be outlawed throughout much of the United States, or even throughout its entirety, with state legislators and even the President calling for a ban.

New York became the first state to ban the sale of flavored E-cigarettes on Tuesday, September 17, and the state of Michigan followed a day later. The bans follow recently emerging lung injuries linked to vaping. The Center For Disease Control has reported 580 cases of lung injury that have been traced back to vaping. The CDC also reports seven deaths linked to vaping. The outlawing of flavored e-cigarettes has gained even more traction since the president called to ban them, worrying for the health and safety of his teenage son, Barron. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan blames e-cigarette companies for creating candy flavors and using deceptive advertising to attract the youth to their product. Senior Tom Traficanti believes that “banning flavored vape juices may prevent teens from vaping, but those who are already addicted will still find ways to vape.” In recent years a reported 78% of high school teens and 48% of middle school kids said they have used vapes or e-cigarettes.Political officials at the state and federal level have labeled youth vaping as a health emergency. 

The large number of deaths and medical concerns cases linked to vaping has caused people to be more skeptical of the safety of vaping. Leyden student Nico DiBellis thinks that flavored e-cigarettes should be banned. “We don’t fully understand the long term effects of vaping,”he said. Another Leyden student opposes the ban because other harmful substances like cigarettes are legal and have killed many more people than e-cigarettes. 

Juul Labs is one of the main manufacturers of flavored e-cigarettes and a company that’s been accused of marketing to teens and children. The Silicon Valley company that started in 2017 has stated that its mission is to eliminate cigarettes, though clearly little progress has been made on that front. Juul has said in the past that they are attempting to stop youth vaping, but it seems that the efforts they have made to combat this epidemic have been relatively useless, especially when considered alongside its product lineup and marketing. 

If more states follow suit in banning flavored e-cigarettes, it is possible to see more in depth studies of the long term effects of vaping to reduce the health risks and reduce the amount of youth vaping.