By Kelly Kim Miller and Wyatt Garrett
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas lawmakers raised the age to purchase tobacco and vaping devices earlier this week.
Customers now need to be 21-years-old in order to purchase cigarettes, e-cigs, vape or any nicotine device. If the individual turns 19-years-old before the end of 2019, or actively serves in the military, they are grandfathered into the new law. These changes crack down on underage nicotine users just as the Arkansas Department of Health reports its findings on vaping related illnesses.
Last August, multiple teenagers and young adults were suddenly hospitalized for vaping. These incidents have sparked investigations conducted by multiple states in conjunction with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Arkansas Department of Health is one of them. “There is a nationwide outbreak investigation,” said Appathurai Balamurugan, chief medical officer of the Arkansas Department of Health. “All of the department of healths from the states are coordinating with the CDC and the FDA for the investigation.”
According to Balamurugan, over two hundred cases of vaping-related lung illnesses have been reported across the country. In a press release, the Arkansas Department of Health announced at the end of August that four cases have been reported in the state. Now in the beginning of September, Balamurugan said that the number has risen to six.
However, in spite of the recent crack down on nicotine products in the state, Balamurugan said that it is the non-nicotine substances within the vaping products that are under investigation. “The CDC testing center and the FDA found that marijuana was found in several of the products, in the different brands they tested, along with vitamin E,” Balamurugan said.
Local officials are taking notice at the University of Arkansas as well. The university’s policy is that of a tobacco-free campus, and that includes the prohibition of e-cigarettes according to Zac Brown, assistant director of communications at the Pat Walker Health Center.
However, he also said that if a student felt unwell from vaping, the student shouldn’t be afraid to come in and get looked at by a doctor. “Obviously when a student is cited for tobacco use, it is from a UAPD stand point,” said Brown. “Our first and main priority is the health of the student. In order to get the right care, it is important to be open and honest.”
Brown said that Pat Walker has a tobacco cessation program to help students and faculty deal with their nicotine addiction. Brown also said that educating the public to make wise decisions is important at Pat Walker Health Center as well. “We look at public health trends and then develop programming, education and content to really just inform the community,” said Brown. “We want to arm everyone with the right information so that they can be successful.”