HAWAII'S STUDENTS VAPINGS

HAWAII eyes flavored e-cigarette ban to curb teen vaping............

The first state to limit tobacco and electronic cigarette sales to people 21 and older is contemplating a new nicotine crackdown outlawing flavored electronic cigarette liquids and flavored tobacco to combat a spike in teenage vaping.

Hawaii would be the first state to adopt such a ban under a bill before the legislature. San Francisco was the first US city to do so.

The proposal would ban flavored  e-cigarette  liquids such as  Maui Mango and Cookie Monsta, along with cloves and other flavored tobacco products, but it would exempt menthol cigarettes and vaping liquids.

Supporters aim to make  e-cigarettes less alluring to teenagers as studies show increasing numbers of  high school and middle school students are becoming addicted to nicotine through vaping.

''They look at cigarette and they say, 'Cigarette are disgusting. Tobacco is disgusting.'' said Trish La Chica, an advocate and lobbyist for the Hawaii Public Health Institute.

''So take away the cotton candy, take away the flavors that looks like they belong in an  ice cream shop, and they wouldn't be attracted if they start in the first place.''

Battery-powered e-cigarettes typically heat flavored nicotine solutions into an inhalable vapor. They're more popular among teens than regular cigarettes, and most experts agree they're less harmful than cigarettes because the vapors don't contain tar and other cancer-causing by products of burning tobacco.

But there is virtually no research on the long-term effects of the chemicals in the vapor, some of which are toxic. And some researchers believe  vaping will make kids more likely to take up cigarettes.

The US Food and Drug Administration earlier this month proposed restricting sales of most flavored tobacco products in stores that verify customer's  age upon entry or include a separate age-restricted area for vaping products.

The FDA said it would prioritize removing vaping products that clearly appeal to kids such as those with packaging that resembles juice boxes, candies or cookies..

 The honor and serving of the latest global operational research on ''students and vaping''  continues.