American Lung Association responds to ongoing youth vaping epidemic

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - A new report from the American Lung Association reveals parts of the ArkLaMiss being among the worst states to prevent and reduce tobacco.

According to the association, Arkansas had little progress in passing policies to reduce and prevent tobacco control.

Arkansas received a “Grade F” in the ‘Funding for State Tobacco Prevention Programs’ category by the State of Tobacco Control in the 2023 report. Tobacco usage has taken the lives of over 5,000 Arkansas residents in the past year and around 7,000 in Louisiana. This is why advocates are working to slow down the ongoing vaping epidemic among teens and young adults.

“One of the big things that we’ve been working on - both at the federal level and then at the state and local level is policies that restrict sales of flavored tobacco - of favored vapes,” says Laura Turner, who’s the Senior Manager of Advocacy for Arkansas with the American Lung Association. “With a lot of the flavors being taken out of the market - of the e-cigarette market, we still have that concern about menthol and mint as being flavors that are going to hook more people.”

The association says new steps and rules are being proposed to end the sales of menthol cigarettes by the federal government.