LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - The federal government is fighting back against a handful of companies that make liquids for e-cigarettes, and some local vape shop owners support their efforts.
The FDA sent 13 warning letters to companies that produce e-liquid, accusing them of deceptive marketing. The products were packaged to look too similar to juice boxes, cookies, candies, and whipped cream (and smelled like those foods, as well), increasing the chances that children would try to use them.
According to a study published in the April 2018 edition of Pediatrics, more than 8,000 cases of nicotine poisoning in children were reported in the United States between 2012-17. The vast majority of those cases involved children under the age of three who drank the liquid.
“It does not take much to even kill a child,” said Nicole Ward, a tobacco treatment specialist at UAMS. “It’s very poisonous to children, and pets. And it can be absorbed through the skin, and I think there’s a lot of parents out there that don’t realize this. And it looks like it’s harmless, and they’re—a lot of times—in very small packages, so it looks like it would never harm somebody, but it really doesn’t take much for small children.”
According to the National Poison Control Center, nicotine poisoning, “often causes nausea, vomiting, dizziness, tremors (shakiness), and sweating, and can make the heart beat much faster than normal. Severe poisoning can cause seizures. It can even cause death. Seizures can begin only 20-30 minutes after swallowing products containing nicotine.”
Millions of people nationwide vape--or use e-cigarettes--because it is touted as a safer alternative to tobacco.
'“Safer is not safe,” Ward stated. “It doesn’t take much for something to be safer than a cigarette, because smoking is so bad for you.”
Ward said vaping can be a good option for someone who otherwise would not quit smoking, though other options are preferable.
Topher Kent said he had tried other methods to quit, but could never stick with anything until he tried vaping. He now runs Rogue Vapers, which has locations in Little Rock, North Little Rock and Russellville.
“I’m glad the FDA’s finally stepped up the enforcement,” he said.
Kent is also the president of the Arkansas Vape Advocacy Alliance, a trade group that lobbies on behalf of the industry.
“You know, we’re only here to help people quit smoking,” said Scout Stubbs, co-owner of Drippers Vape Shop and a member of the AVAA. “We’re not here to collect people who start the habit, we’re here to help people quit a habit.”
Stubbs said one of the goals of the AVAA is to set marketing standards for its members to follow. E-cigarettes first hit the market roughly a decade ago, so the industry is still trying to find its ethical center.
“That’s what I think this industry needs,” Stubbs said. “I hate that a couple of bad apples are making the industry look bad for all of us.”
Joshua “Willy” Willingham, co-owner of Willy’s Vapor Cafe in Cabot, said the AVAA members want to set the standard.
“If there’s anything cartoons, if there’s anything that is gonna be appealing to kids, I’m definitely not gonna carry it in our shop,” he stated.
Some of the products mentioned in the FDA’s warning letters are still available for sale online, and Stubbs said there are probably many stores at which customers can find them, because those businesses are more concerned with profits than their clients.
“I mean, that’s just common sense, I would think, that a lot of these manufacturers should follow,” Stubbs said.” If a kid could confuse it with candy, don’t carry it!”
Drippers only sells varieties of e-liquids, also known as juices, that it makes in-house. But Stubbs said it recently make a change to its labels to reduce the odds that a child would be enticed by them.
“What I’ve done is kind of mute the colors, to kind of resemble what the wine and beer industry are doing,” she explained. “Their labels are interesting, but no child would confuse that with a child’s product. It’s a less-colorful alternative.”
According to the Pediatrics study, the rate of nicotine poisoning in kids was twice as high in Arkansas as the national average, even though the state had regulations—such as requiring that e-liquid bottles have child-proof caps—in place. Kent said he hopes more government oversight will give vaping more legitimacy.
“Hopefully, manufacturers will mature and re-brand to create a more professional and sophisticated look for e-liquid products going forward,” he said.
Ward believes the deceptive marketing practices used by the e-liquid manufacturers is similar to the use of Joe Camel to sell cigarettes.
“It’s really interesting,” she said, “because you can look back at a lot of advertisements from the 50’s and 60’s, where they would have doctors advertise and say, ‘these cigarettes are actually good for your throat.’ And the tobacco industry went to great lengths to hide their intentions and the devastating effects of their products, including lying to Congress.”
“Camel rebranded,” Stubbs mentioned. “And I’m just hoping that these companies realize that what they’re doing is irresponsible, and it makes us all look bad.”
While Stubbs acknowledged to danger that liquid nicotine can pose to children, she also downplayed the risk it poses to the country, as a whole. “That accounts for 0.4 percent of the total calls to the poison control center,” she claimed. “Forty-five percent were cleaning products, personal cosmetics, things of that nature. So, I mean, I’m not saying we shouldn’t take this seriously, because we are, but if you look at it in perspective, I think we’re on good footing.”
Anyone who wants information about how to quit smoking may call the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.