WASHINGTON — They’ll start treating e-cigarettes just like regular cigarettes
in Arlington County public schools.
Thursday night, the school board voted to add e-cigarettes to a
list of banned substances in schools as well as add them to
the system’s “No Tobacco” policy.
Peter Fisher, with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, calls the vote “a very
sensible move” by the board. A CDC study released just last month found e-
cigarette use among high school students tripled between 2011 and 2013.
“Which is concerning because e-cigarettes contain nicotine, and nicotine use
by young people in any form is unsafe, as the CDC noted, and it can harm
adolescent brain development,” Fisher tells WTOP.
Erika Sward, with the American Lung Association, says it’s no wonder more
young people are trying e-cigarettes.
“What we are seeing over and over again with the e-cigarette industry is that
they’ve ripped a page out of big tobacco’s handbook. They are using candy
flavors like cotton candy and Fruit Loops and even Captain Crunch to target
kids. E-cigarettes should not be used by youth. They are a tobacco product,
and we really applaud Arlington County for its efforts to prevent kids from
starting to use e-cigarettes.”
In July, a law took effect in Virginia barring the possession of e-cigarettes
by, or their sale to, anyone under age 18.
E-cigarettes are not yet federally regulated, but that could change soon.
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