12 NOVEMBER 21, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Vape or smoke, there’s nothing good about tobacco
When it comes to marketing
tobacco to youths,
it seems that the more
things change, the more they stay
the same.
For years, anti-smoking activists
railed against tobacco companies
for using colorful imagery to entice
young people into buying their
products. “Joe Camel,” the anthropomorphic
cartoon depicting a camel
in suave situations with a cigarette
always hanging from its lips, became
synonymous with such provocative
campaigns until it was discontinued
in 1997 amid public pressure.
In much the same way, according
to a lawsuit that state Attorney General
Letitia James filed Tuesday, the
producers of Juul — an e-cigarette
considered safer to traditional smoking
— have used “bright, colorful
images of attractive, young models”
that “appealed to underage youth.
James’ suit further alleges that
Juul used other tactics to engage
individuals younger than 18 into
buying vapers, including social
media marketing campaigns that
conveniently omitted that the
EDITORIAL
devices contain nicotine. The attorney
general cited a 2018 report
which indicated that approximately
45 percent of followers of Juul’s
Twitter account, as of 2018, were
between the ages of 13 and 17.
The company allegedly also went
to a New York City high school and
falsely marketed the devices to
freshmen students (as young as 14)
that they were safer than regular
cigarettes.
E-cigarettes and vaping have come
under fire in recent months, as more
people turn to vapers such as Juul to
get their nicotine fix. The concern
has spiked amid an outbreak of a
mysterious lung ailment linked to a
number of deaths nationwide.
Vaping may be less harmful to the
body than regular smoking, but according
to Johns Hopkins University,
there are still many dangers users
face — namely the risk of nicotine
addiction.
Nicotine poses a clear and present
danger to the human body. The
National Institute of Health notes
that nicotine addiction poses “an
increased risk of cardiovascular,
respiratory, gastrointestinal disorders,”
reduces immunity, impacts
reproductive health and can even
mutate a person’s DNA — increasing
the risk of cancer.
Simply put, there is no safe way to
get your nicotine fix — regardless of
whether you light up or vape.
We applaud James for pursuing
companies that use predatory
tactics to rope youths into a life of
nicotine addiction. And we urge our
readers to look out for their loved
ones, and help them avoid or kick
“the habit.”
THE HOT TOPIC
STORY:
A cut above: Mario’s Meats and Deli
is Middle Village’s sole surviving
butcher
SUMMARY:
Mario’s Meats and Deli, self-dubbed
the “King of Italian Style Veal Cutlets
and Homemade Sausage,” has been
selling homemade sausages and meat
butchered in-house since 1982.
REACH:
21,208 people reached (as of 11/19/19)
Photo via Getty Images
ESTABLISHED 1908
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EMILY DAVENPORT
CARLOTTA MOHAMED
MAX PARROT
BILL PARRY
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