Nebraska Legislature Must Address Tobacco Crisis
Action Needed to Reduce the Burden of Cancer on Nebraskans
WASHINGTON, D.C. August 25, 2014 The following statement comes from Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, in response to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing a three-fold increase in the number of youth using e-cigarettes who don 't smoke conventional cigarettes. The study also found that youth who have used e-cigarettes are twice as likely to have intentions of smoking conventional cigarettes. The data released by the CDC today show that the Surgeon General 's call for a äóÖtobacco-free generation ' in this year 's Report on the Health Consequences of Smoking is being undercut by the increased use of e-cigarettes among youth. The finding that youth who have used an e-cigarette are twice as likely to express intent to smoke a traditional cigarette is an indication that the social norms our society have so carefully worked to achieve to reduce youth tobacco use and remove smoking from popular culture are being undermined. Left unregulated, e-cigarette companies maintain unfettered access to market their products to kids using attractive flavors, provocative advertising and celebrity endorsements. While the long-term health effects of using e-cigarettes are still unknown, we do know that when a child picks up an e-cigarette it can be the gateway to a life-long addiction to nicotine and exposure to the disease and death caused by tobacco products. This study further illustrates the critical need for the FDA to move quickly to regulate e-cigarettes, ban flavorings that are attractive to youth and reign in the marketing practices of the unscrupulous tobacco industry. ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem.æ ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visitæwww.fightcancer.org. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Lauren Walens or Steven Weiss American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Phone: (202) 661-5763 or (202) 661-5711 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] #FDA #ecigarette #ecig #CDC #smokefree #tobacco #cancer #ACSCAN