Tag: smoking cessation

Fact and Fake News About the Safety of E-cigarettes

An outbreak of lung injuries among e-cigarette users across the United States has focused national attention on the potential dangers of vaping, prompting the federal government and some states to take policy steps in response.

According to the CDC, e-cigarettes (also known as e-cigs, e-hookahs, vapes, vape pens, tank systems, or mods) have become extremely popular. The increase in their use may be attributed, among other factors, to the perception that e-cigarettes are not harmful, do not contain nicotine, and may help cigarette smokers quit smoking.

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Raising Smoking Age to 100 – Should Education or Legislation Be Used to Better Healthcare?

Editor’s note: In this editorial from the desk of PPAHS’s Executive Director, the proposed Hawaii bill to raise the legal age to buy cigarettes to 100 years raises the question – “To Educate or Legislate Better Healthcare?”

Hawaii State Representative Richard Creagan recently proposed a state bill that would have raised the legal age to buy cigarettes in the State of Hawaii to 100 years:

The new bill, HB 1509, suggests that the smoking age should go up to 30 in 2020, 40 in 2021, 50 in 2022, and 60 in 2023 – until finally, in 2024, people would need to be 100 years old to buy cigarettes.

Although the bill was “shelved” for the 2019 legislative period in a unanimous vote, the efforts by Dr. Creagan raise the question – “To Educate or Legislate Better Healthcare?”

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