11-03-2025
Tennessee should curb youth vaping but avoid preventing legal access to adults
Tennessee decisionmakers are considering universal carding and other policies to curb youth vaping.
Good.
While e-cigarettes represent a viable alternative to traditional smoking, they are still not safe for the state's teenage population, 22% of which vape, according to the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR).
Especially when considering that the vast majority of them smoke non-FDA approved vapes in kid-friendly flavored like candy apple and gummy bear, which are illegally imported from China.
Many of these devices lack any semblance of quality control and contain harmful chemicals that pose severe risks to users. A study from Johns Hopkins University found that some of them contain toxic metals like lead and chromium, likely from poorly constructed heating coils.
Tennessee has already felt the consequences of these illegal imports in a big way.
In 2019, the Tennessee Department of Health reported the first death of a patient with respiratory disease from using an e-cigarette.
Two weeks later, another person died from a vaping-related injury. A 30-year-old Newport, Tennessee resident disclosed that doctors informed her that she had lungs 'like an 80-year-old' from vaping.
All told, in 2019, a total of 78 cases of severe lung injury related to vaping were reported to the state health department and plenty have been reported in the years since.
While these Chinese, kid-friendly vapes are illegal under federal law, and all vaping remains illegal for minors, Tennessee does not have enough vetting protocols in place to keep them away from our children.
Late last year, for instance, McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy ran a sting operation that found 34 of the 47 vape stores located in the county sold illegal vaping devices or did not check the IDs of purchasers. Universal carding will solve this problem, and the state should implement it without delay.
But there's another concern that could worsen the state's vaping crisis.
A federal agency known as the U.S. International Trade Commission is currently attempting to ban FDA-approved vaping products in the U.S. This would not positively impact the public health.
It would only drive more Tennessee smokers toward unregulated black market of Chinese vaping products or back to cigarettes, both of which carry significant health risks.
As of Jan. 30, a 60-day clock began for President Donald Trump to override the ITC's recommendation.
The Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative should recommend he do so because, for adult smokers trying to quit traditional cigarettes, a leading cause of preventable death in Tennessee, vaping offers a potentially safer alternative.
Only three states in the nation vape more than the residents of Tennessee. For these individuals, access to regulated vaping products remains a critical tool to help them quit nicotine.
Even as illicit and harmful vaping products flood the market, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acknowledges that vaping can play a legitimate role in smoking cessation programs. The FDA has even gone so far as to approve certain vaping products to help adult smokers transition away from traditional tobacco. Ensuring that adult smokers have access to safe, effective alternatives to cheap, illegal Chinese products should be a priority, not an afterthought.
Tennessee has already seen the devastating impact that illegal vaping has had on our state. Lawmakers and regulators must strike a balance − cracking down on illicit products and youth smoking while preserving access to safe, FDA-approved options. Giving China a blank check to flood the U.S. market with contraband devices would only make things worse.
Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, R- Clarksville, is the chairman of the U.S. Homeland Security Committee in Congress. He, a longtime China hawk, needs to act to ensure this doesn't happen. I have every confidence that he will. And I have every confidence that Tennessee will soon pass its measures to curb youth vaping instate, too. With their strong leadership, our communities will become safer and healthier with the stroke of just a couple of pens.
Monica Farrow serves as secretary and treasurer on the Tennessee Polk County Industrial Economic Development Board, is a macroeconomics adjunct professor and political science adjunct professor at Georgia Military College, and is president of Society Hill, which advises companies regarding corporate and policy issues.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee youth use vaping products above national average | Opinion
