When I was in high school in 2016, I was smack dab in the prime of the Juul craze, and just in time for the disposable e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches to come out. And let me tell you, when Juuls hit the scene, my friends and I jumped onto this trend. After all, it was advertised everywhere on TV and online, and with goofy flavors like mango, gum mint, and iced guava, this stuff seemed totally innocent. In 2016, cigarettes had warning labels on them, and everyone knew they were terrible for you. Juul was marketed as a safer choice. It was all over the place. And we got hooked.
In a perfect world, I wouldn’t be sharing this. The countless testimonies from doctors, young people, parents, equity leaders, school nurses, and coaches should have been enough to get our Governor to sign Act S.18, the comprehensive bill to ban the sale of flavored tobacco in Vermont, into legislation. Instead, it passed the House and the Senate only to be vetoed by our Governor.
Vermont was painfully close to joining states like Massachusetts, California, Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island, New York, and Utah in outright banning or significantly restricting the sale of flavored tobacco.
This means that more young people will become addicted to flavored tobacco. Just like high-school-aged me. Just like the young person from northern Vermont who told me they had their first hit off a vape when they were just nine or ten years old. Does the age shock you? It’s not even that unusual. Who do you think they are marketing those flavors to?
To that young person, I’m sorry. We should have done more last year. You and your friends don’t deserve to be relentlessly pursued by a dangerous product with a larger marketing budget than our state spends on education. It’s not fair. I promise to keep fighting for a healthier future for you and your friends. I will continue to work to ban flavored tobacco in Vermont. One step at a time.
One thing I hear time and again from people who remain skeptical that flavored tobacco use is such a massive problem is, “Are there really any long-term health effects from these new devices? They’re the same as cigarettes. They’re better than cigarettes!”
This tobacco industry talking point from way back still finds its way into conversations in 2025. It’s true, vapes were initially marketed as being safer than cigarettes. In reality, they are very dangerous. These devices are extremely good at delivering huge doses of nicotine and other chemicals. One vape cartridge can contain about the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. It takes cigarette smokers a lifetime to work up to a pack/day addiction. This level of use comes frighteningly fast for those using vapes and pouches. The persistence of the belief that vaping is safe is ridiculous, and many studies caution against the use of vapes and disposable e-cigarettes and call for more regulation around those same products! The same can be said for nicotine pouches.
Maybe it’s that people don’t want to look at this research. Or perhaps the way the studies are presented isn’t quite right… All those numbers, frequencies, and scientific language can be so hard to follow (I get it). Especially trying to figure out what those things actually mean. But rather than telling you the science behind why vapes, e-cigarettes, and nicotine pouches are incredibly dangerous, I want to ask the young people who started with Juul and have now transitioned to disposable e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches what they’re feeling now.
I asked friends, acquaintances, and followers on Snapchat and Instagram, and strangers on Winooski and Colchester Front Porch Forum, some questions to learn what my community thinks about flavored tobacco.
I collected 51 responses from individuals aged 19 to 77, located across North America, from New Mexico to Niagara Falls, Canada. At the end of the day, this isn’t a research paper. But these heartfelt responses mean a lot to me and keep me motivated to fight to ban flavored tobacco.
As I said, if you’re a numbers person, look at all the research about the risk of these new products (if you do that, make sure you take note of studies funded by big tobacco… not suspicious or biased even in the slightest (sarcasm font)).
What I remember from high school is that you feel cool when you first start vaping because of how discreet it is and how you can do it under the nose of almost any adult. We had a code phrase, “Office hours.” You’d hear and know it was time to use the “stick” in the bathroom. There was no way we could get caught. And it seemed entirely safe.
Today, even though my friends and I are of legal age to buy and use tobacco products, we still have code names for these things. It speaks to the idea that we know it’s bad, so if we call it something innocent or silly-sounding, it will be less destructive. I asked my followers what they call their flavored tobacco products.
“Death Stick”! You don’t say.
According to my respondents, the new products for America, but not the world, are nicotine pouches with two other discrete names: a “puck” and a “lip pillow.” I’ve started to see them in litter on the ground too.
The names often reflect how the product looks, is packaged, or how it makes you feel. Maybe we should find nicknames that refer to the health impact. Death stick doesn’t seem too far off.
I asked one “Yes” or “No” question on my quick survey: Do you think there are long-term health impacts from flavored tobacco use?
49 out of 51 people said “Yes.” 96.1%.
One of the two people who responded “No” said, “Nicotine itself isn’t bad for you, but it’s the way we consume it that makes it bad for you. The flavor means nothing to me.” (23, Massachusetts).
While I appreciate this person for calling out the fact that how we consume nicotine is dangerous and that processed tobacco contains other chemicals, and vapes and e-cigarettes are notorious for not listing all ingredients on the packaging, nicotine itself is hazardous. It poses health threats to anyone, regardless of how they consume it.
The number one thing I assumed people would talk about in terms of the health impacts of flavored tobacco is lung issues. From my experience, I can tell you that it hurts your lungs. Not just your lungs but seemingly your whole chest and belly. People did write about trouble breathing, and there were many other impacts respondents cited as health issues they’ve connected to their flavored tobacco use.
One person astutely pointed out that prolonged use can lead to “Brain fog, decreased motivation, anxiety, and ED (erectile dysfunction) in men” (California, 22). They also said, “Always looking for my next rip distracts me from my life and living in the moment.”
While we often think of long-term tobacco use as impacting our lungs, we can forget the psychological and other physiological impacts outside of lung damage.
An example that sticks with me came from a 21-year-old in South Burlington.
“My mouth tasting like shit every time I wake up. Tasting blood every time I try to play the sport I love. Fighting my friends about letting me hit the nic every time I quit. Missing class because I have to go hit my vape. Expanding on that, they said, “It sucks. It’s expensive and it looks stupid. It’s as much oral fixation as it is addiction, so you feel like you don’t know how to quit. I can’t do simple things and things I love because my lungs just aren’t strong enough, and that’s humiliating.”
This person said that despite feeling humiliated, they still find themselves going back to flavored tobacco. I can’t stress enough how much these products can contribute to the deterioration of mental health and physical well-being outside of your lungs. These factors often fly under the radar in prevention work.
Some other responses I got about the impact of flavored tobacco use:
“Weaker lungs, more likely to get winded walking upstairs, a throat that constantly feels phlegmy, heart problems, liver problems, blood pressure problems, lung cancer.” (Virginia, 24).
“It has made it impossible to not feel bored when the thing (the vape) is not in my hand. Used to say I wasn’t an addict until I became one. I feel like getting things done day-to-day sucks a lot more when I’m not sure if there’s a vape nearby I can rip 400 times when I find the excuse to take a break from whatever I’m doing, it’s ridiculous. Also, a huge waste of money.”
Not only do these young people talk about the variety of physical impacts, but they also speak to those bodily addictions outside of the smoke. Having a vape or e-cigarette in your hand has become a fixation for many of the young people who filled out my survey.
The holding of the product fixation is something that I’ve heard some cigarette smokers had to overcome when they began their quit journey. One person told me they had to cut up straws and chew on them to simulate the feeling of having it in their hand.
People also bring up the intense financial burden. A vape costs between $5 and $20. In Vermont, that number will be closer to $20 or $30, depending on various factors. Refillable vapes cost more to start but become cheaper over time.
Still not getting the point?
“Lungs feel heavy, increased heart rate, and possibly lung cancer later in life.” (Colchester, 39).
“My lungs and throat feel tighter over time, I have less energy, less stamina, and it increases my anxiety.” (23, New York).
“When I’m sick and cough after using my Loon, I can taste vape juice! Lungs are probably filled with it.” (23, Colchester).
“Minimal lung capacity, chest pains, mood swings/easily irritable and depressed.” (24, Richmond).
“Chest pain and more frequent sickness.” (22, Vermont).
“Anxiety, heart palpitations, increased anxiety… Don’t feel good!” (19, Vermont).
It seems to me that if so many young people cite flavored tobacco products as a cause of their chest pain, anxiety, and general sickness, we shouldn’t have them up front at every convenience store you walk into.
To wrap it up, let’s take a few more looks at how some people say flavored tobacco has impacted their lives.
“I mean, I’ve been addicted to vaping since like 10th grade, so… going on 8 years? Yikes. That’s a lot of money and a lot of unhealthy air in my body. I also hate feeling so reliant on something like I’m being controlled, but alas, here I am.” (22, New York)
“Seeing my friends go to the hospital because their lungs failed them is hard.” (24, New Hampshire).
“It was so easily brought into my life when I was 18, and in the 6 years since, I have attempted to quit numerous times. I’ve made it past 24 hours 5 times in that period, made it one month twice, and 9 months once. I had no idea when I started vaping that it would end up controlling my life, dictating my mood, health, and meaning I could not (or rather, would not) participate in anything that would inhibit me from being able to vape, even if it was something I wanted to do.” (24, Richmond).
Listen, these aren’t the realities for every single person who’s ever hit a vape or used a nicotine pouch. I can honestly say, however, that this is the reality for many of my peers. And, many people who are much younger than us.
Between 2015 and 2025, we’ve seen some change. Young people are stressed, and they’re looking for a crutch. Wouldn’t you know we’ve got crutches that taste like cotton candy now? This is so frustrating to me because young people often try tobacco because they think it helps with stress and anxiety, and instead it becomes, as people responding to my survey said, something they are constantly worrying about that is making them sick.
I don’t want future generations to share the struggle I and so many of my peers are currently facing.
I don’t want third graders learning to vape in school bathrooms.
We were oh so close to ensuring that Vermont took the proper steps towards a healthier and happier community by banning the sale of flavored tobacco in Vermont. It didn’t happen, but the fight certainly didn’t end.
I made a promise to that young person up in Northern Vermont. I will not go quietly. It is unacceptable that billion-dollar corporations can prey upon a new generation of smokers through bright colors and sweet flavors.
Guest Author
Marcus Aloisi is the field director for Flavors Hook Kids, Vermont. As a 2024 UVM graduate, Marcus has dedicated much of his life to making Vermont a better place. Whether it’s creating a fundraiser for flood relief in middle schools, advocating for better mental health services at UVM, or working with youth about substance misuse, he wants to make a difference. Marcus uses his voice to advocate for a happier, healthier future for all.
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