With the stroke of a pen we could close this vaping loophole | Opinion

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Vaping: Fix this federal loophole

The writer was a Democratic member of Congress from N.C., 2007-13.

Napoleon supposedly warned that if you start taking Vienna, you need to finish the job and actually take Vienna. Well, North Carolina has started cracking down on flavored vape companies that continue to target the state’s youth. The federal government should finish the job by doing whatever it takes to keep these products out of minors’ hands.

Instead, it is inadvertently encouraging young people to vape by allowing disposable e-cigarettes to remain available.

The 2019 North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey found that more than one-fifth of N.C. high school students use e-cigarettes, with usage ballooning by 1,129% between 2011 and 2019. This isn’t supposed to be the case. Three years ago, the FDA took action to ban flavored e-cigarettes. However, the process didn’t go far enough. FDA has continued to allow flavored disposable vaping products, and minors have continued to use them.

A recent government study found that over 2.5 million adolescents are using e-cigarettes today, with most using flavored, disposable products. North Carolina is feeling the pain. Stories of abuse and overdose are becoming all too commonplace.

The federal government can help extinguish this youth smoking problem effortlessly — with the stroke of a pen — by adding flavored disposable vapes to its 2020 administrative guidance.

Why wouldn’t it? America’s public health experts have been clear on how significantly this loophole has affected minors in our state. Mark Schoeberl, an American Heart Association vice president, says it’s critical to “close the disposable e-cigarette loophole, which has kept dangerous products with kid-friendly flavors on the market and easily accessible to our nation’s youth.”

I couldn’t agree more. It is time to finally take Vienna. Doing so would mark a significant win for President Biden, who has made his desire to end the youth smoking crisis clear. It’s a move that parents, educators and lawmakers in this state won’t soon forget.

Heath Shuler, Asheville

Get to know your AAIP neighbors

On Jan. 11, 2023, the number of Asian-American state legislators increased from three to five in North Carolina when Rep. Maria Cervania and I joined Sens. Jay Chaudhuri, Michael Lee, and Mujtaba Mohammed in the General Assembly.

We now have two South Asian Americans, one Chinese American, one Taiwanese American, and one Filipino American representing one of the fastest-growing demographics in the state. As one of the first Asian American women elected to the legislature, it was humbling and surreal to see an Asian last name on the voting board.

According to the 2020 census, there are 441,478 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living in North Carolina, 4.1% of our total population.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAIP) Heritage Month. As we pull out of the pandemic, let us not forget that hate crimes against Asian Americans surged in the U.S. during COVID, with more than 2,100 anti-Asian American hate incidents reported between March and June 2020, including incidents in the Triangle area.

A local Chinese American doctor faced verbal attacks and was asked why he brought the virus here by the very patient he was attending. Other AAPI healthcare workers endured verbal and physical attacks while risking their lives to save patients.

Despite all of this, the Chinese American community showed incredible kindness during the pandemic. In spring 2020, our state experienced a severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the peak of the pandemic. The Chinese American community and related organizations donated $500,000 worth of PPE to hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Chinese international students at UNC Chapel Hill and their parents donated 100,000 medical masks to UNC hospital, Duke Hospital, Cary police, Cary firefighters and several senior homes in Cary.

Stories and contributions of Asian Americans are not often highlighted by mainstream media. I encourage you to make efforts to get to know your Asian American neighbors and friends. Ask about their cultures and heritage — this month and every month.

Rep. Ya Liu, Raleigh