There was an Indie film that came out in the early 1980s, The Gods Must Be Crazy. Featured in the film was a remote tribe in Africa that thought certain western folks might be gods, because they inhaled on a stick and blew smoke. Talk about fire in the belly. But there was no magic in these men. Just cigarette smoke.
Nowadays a body can even make smoke without cigarettes, and blow it into the wind, just like the old movie stars. This vaping stuff is all around. At high school football games. At the grocery store. At the park. There are stores dedicated to vaping. People, too. Dedicated, that is.
When this habit first made the rounds, some of us thought, fine. At least people aren't smoking, and putting all those chemicals into their lungs. Now, however . . . .
Those who keep up with these things are finding more and more to dislike about vaping. Nobody can say for certain that it's all that much better than cigarettes. After all, if you put nicotine into it, a vape pen might be some sort of gateway to smokes. And if you add flavors to vape pens, they can attract young people, which they most assuredly have.
There are just things about vaping that We the People and Public don't know yet. Lest we forget, the Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved vaping as a safe alternative to smoking. And might never.
What we do know: Last month, the feds released a report about the first death that "might" be related to vaping. And issued a warning to companies about advertising. Five other deaths and more than 450 cases of illnesses might be associated with these so-called "e-cigarettes." Including six illnesses here in Arkansas. The president has commented on it. And so have a handful of concerned governors. Not to mentional principals and parents and coaches. And doctors.
Hunter Field, a reporter over on the news side of this outfit, reported last week that the state legislature is considering bills to curb vaping in this state. A couple of legislative committees in Little Rock have already heard from doctors and other witnesses about the dangers of increased use.
Good. We'd like to hear more about this, too.
When it met in session earlier this year, the Ledge didn't pass any bills aimed at vaping. There is still a lot of ignorance involved. Not ignorance as in dumb, but ignorance as in incomprehension. Not to blame them, but a lot of lawmakers simply didn't want to start taxing and regulating things they knew so little about. That's to be expected in a frontier state in a frontier country.
So why not learn more?
That appears to be the thought of a couple of lawmakers who told the press they've proposed a study on vaping, hopefully to be made public before the next legislative session. This might be one of those studies that actually produces something along the lines of information and understanding. Instead of empty reports. There is so little known about vaping that a lot of people, not just lawmakers, might learn from such an analysis. Let's get to it.
When it comes to certain vaping techniques and habits, the feds might beat the states to the punch. Dispatches say the Trump administration has already called for restrictions on flavored e-cigarettes. In what can be described as an odd (and early) capitulation, the country's biggest vaping concern, Juul, indicated it would go along: "We strongly agree with the need for aggressive category-wide action on flavored products," Juul put out in a press release. "We will fully comply with the final FDA policy when effective."
Of course, it might not have a choice but to comply with the FDA. And this might be a case of a company seeing bad public relations in the future, and maybe litigation. Used to be, Big Tobacco was untouchable, too. If Juul sees the writing on the wall, it might want to offer an opinion on what the writing says, eventually. We shall see.
There is no magic in the vapor pouring out of people at the park, the mall and the sidewalk. There is no witchcraft involved. Just chemicals and mankind's insupportable and overwhelming desire to try new things, even if it means the death of him. Who, do you think, was the first person to wrap up a tobacco leaf, light it afire, and inhale? Doubtless he instantly regretted it. But the addictive ingredients had him coming back for more.
Native tribes on this continent started cultivating tobacco, oh, about 6,000 years ago. The surgeon general of the United States got around to linking it to cancer in 1964.
We can act with more speed these days. Let's hope so, anyway.
Editorial on 09/17/2019