Pediatricians work every day to improve the health of Colorado’s kids and, as such, have long been sounding the alarm on electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, and the harms they pose to our children. E-cigarettes are addicting a new generation of young people to nicotine and threatening to unravel five decades of public-health gains regarding tobacco use. That’s why I’m excited to see bipartisan House Bill 22-1064 recently introduced at the state legislature to end the sale of all flavored-tobacco products in Colorado.

About 1,400 Colorado kids become new daily smokers every year – that’s nearly four newly-addicted Colorado children every day. According to the latest Healthy Kids Colorado Survey data, more than one in four Colorado high school students use e-cigarettes.

As a health-care professional, I’ve seen the short- and long-term impacts of teen vaping every day in my own practice. These days, every visit with a teenage patient includes a conversation about e-cigarettes. Many of them either use these products or have friends who do, and they assume that since these products come in child-friendly flavors, they must be safe.

My patients do not understand that one JUUL pod contains as much nicotine as 20 cigarettes. Nicotine-dependence impacts areas of the brain that control executive function, memory and mood. Once the brain becomes dependent on nicotine, it will continue to seek other quick and easy forms of reward or pleasure. This leads to increased risk for other substance use, including alcohol, marijuana and amphetamines, as well as suicide, sexual-risk behaviors and disruptive school-related behaviors.

Many of my patients now use these products on a daily basis and show significant signs of nicotine addiction, finding it difficult, if not impossible, to stop. Among Colorado high school students who have used these products in the past 30 days, 53.4% have tried to quit in the past year. But nicotine withdrawal can cause headaches, insomnia, irritability, anxiety and depression.

A primary reason we’re seeing kids get addicted to nicotine in the first place is because of the availability of flavored-tobacco products. Tobacco companies have a long history of using flavors to make their products more appealing to youth, luring kids into a lifelong struggle with nicotine addiction. The flavors help mask the harsh taste of nicotine, making repeated use more likely, and thereby increasing the likelihood of developing addiction. Data from the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey shows us that 80% of youth who have ever used tobacco started with a flavored product.

House Bill 22-1064 is a comprehensive solution – all products, all locations, no exceptions – which will save lives and curb the youth-vaping epidemic. Over the past few years, tobacco flavor bans have been passed in hundreds of towns and cities, and statewide flavor bans have even gone into effect in states such as Massachusetts, New York, Washington and Rhode Island. Recent studies found these restrictions were associated with reductions of 25% to 31% in e-cigarette sales compared to states without flavor restrictions.

Our goal as pediatricians is to help children and support their families. I hope that, for our kids’ sake, Colorado lawmakers follow other states’ examples and protect our youth from the dangers of nicotine addiction by voting in favor of House Bill 22-1064.

Autumn Orser, MD, FAAP, is a practicing pediatrician in the Colorado Springs community. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Colorado Chapter.