By Ken Tuchman

Published January 16, 2019, Denver Post

The government allowed the tobacco industry to get away with murder for more than 40 years. In 1964, the Surgeon General issued a report linking smoking to lung cancer. Yet not until 2009 was the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed to effectively regulate tobacco products in our country.

Today, the e-cigarette epidemic represents a virtually identical crisis and our government is turning a blind eye to history repeating itself. The rise in e-cigarette use among teens is unprecedented. Today, more than three million youth use e-cigarettes. More teens vape than play soccer. And teenagers in Colorado — where we pride ourselves in being one of the healthiest states – vape at twice the national average rate, the highest of 37 states surveyed.

Last month the Surgeon General declared youth vaping an epidemic, warning of serious health risks and calling for swift action to curb youth access. Yet the FDA has failed to take necessary action to prevent another generation from becoming addicted to nicotine.

As the CEO of a public company employing 50,000 people, a parent, and an active champion of Colorado public education, I am floored that we are knowingly robbing the next generation of good health. Coloradans must lead the change to combat the e-cigarette epidemic and set an example for the rest of the nation.

Tragically, many kids don’t understand — or don’t care — about the health risks of vaping. Nicotine levels in vaping cartridges can be the equivalent of a pack of 20 regular cigarettes. The chemical is harmful to developing brains, increases the risks of cancer and respiratory problems, and its highly addictive properties lead to an increased risk of addiction to other drugs.

At the same time, the e-cigarette epidemic is fueling the health care crisis in our country. Smoking-related diseases kill 1,300 people each day in the U.S., more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. And according to the CDC, smoking-related illness costs our country $300 billion a year. We know it’s not smokers who foot the bill for this — every one of us bears the burden. What makes us think the e-cigarette epidemic will lead to different outcomes?

To make matters worse, the same cancer-causing tobacco companies are powering the e-cigarette industry. Tobacco giant Altria, the parent company to Philip Morris, recently invested $12.8 billion in JUUL, the leading e-cigarette company. JUUL and others claim they provide adult smokers an alternative to tobacco cigarettes, but less than 5 percent of adults currently use e-cigarettes as compared to 27 percent of high school seniors. The e-cigarette companies have followed the tobacco playbook, hooking teens on nicotine and creating a health crisis. How is it that big pharma can make billions of dollars off the opioid crisis and big tobacco can make billions of dollars off the e-cigarette crisis, and neither is held accountable for creating a solution?

The Surgeon General called for legislation to curb the e-cigarette epidemic, echoing Gov. John Hickenlooper’s recent proclamation urging legislators to address the crisis. Colorado must replicate the regulations that proved effective in protecting our kids from tobacco products:

Require retailers of e-cigarettes and vaping products to be licensed. This would allow the state to prevent retailers that consistently sell to minors from continuing to sell these products.

Prohibit the sale of flavored vaping products. Flavors like gummy bear and mango are targeted to children, and 81 percent of youth who vape do so because of the appeal of the flavors.

Extend the tax on tobacco products — one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking — to all e-cigarette products.

Require graphic health warning labels on all e-cigarette products.

Prohibit e-cigarettes everywhere cigarettes are banned.

We have the blueprint. We now need to act on it. Use the directory of state legislators to demand action.