Elected officials in New Mexico are hoping a new batch of bills that aim to make it harder to buy and use vaping and other tobacco products lay the groundwork for a statewide ban.
State Sen. Martin Hickey, told KOB4 news that he knows there’s not much lawmakers can do to keep lifelong smokers away from cigarettes – but he believes they have a duty to protect younger generations from the threat of addiction.
Hickey is also a physician, and he believes the state is losing the battle against teen vaping.
“The trends are, they’re going up, we were waiting to get another survey and I bet we’re probably moving close to 50 percent of high school students,” he said.
Hickey also said those trends are skewing younger.
“Apparently nine out of 10 middle school students have tried vaping,” he said.
Hickey offered no evidence to support his claims.
Since 2019, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of high school students who have tried vaping (1 time in the last 30 days) has dropped by 50 percent, and the number of middle school students has plummeted by 70 percent. During that same time period, the number of high-school students who “frequently” vape dropped by 37 percent and the number of middle school students dropped by 65 percent.
A recent CDC report titled “E-cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2022” found that 9.4 percent of middle and high schoolers surveyed reported currently vaping. In 2019 this figure was at 20 percent, and in 2020, 13.1 percent.
Looking at just middle school students, the CDC reports that 3.3 percent use vaping products.
Hickey admits there are likely too many barriers to enact a statewide vaping ban, but that’s why he and other state lawmakers are putting forth a menu of bills working to chip away at the problem.
Some of the ideas include raising tobacco taxes, banning flavored products, and allowing local governments to enact tougher restrictions against smoking. There are also proposals to prohibit smoking in racinos (a combined race track and casino) and fund prevention programs.
“Whatever doesn’t make it, we’re coming back, because this is so critical and fundamental to youth health,” Hickey said. “I mean, it’s, again, think of it as a chain reaction, it starts here with vaping.”