It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that flavors like bubble gum, cotton candy and gummy bear are appealing to youth, and these are the very flavors that can be found in thousands of today’s tobacco products. Per the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 81% of youth who use tobacco reported their first product was flavored. And don’t forget menthol, the only menthol remaining legal flavor in cigarettes — 33.2% of Jeffco youth who reported smoking in the past 30 days smoked menthols.

As a nurse at Golden High School, I see firsthand how far too many students are struggling with vaping addictions. It is evident that the youth vaping epidemic is nowhere near being over. In fact, the CDC announced last year that 2.55 million middle and high school students in the U.S. reported current e-cigarette use. And among those students, nearly 85% used flavored e-cigarettes.

Flavors are enticing youth to use tobacco and get hooked, and the City of Golden can address this issue head-on by ending the sale of flavored tobacco products (including menthols) in our community. We cannot wait for the federal government or the state of Colorado to act on this. I am calling on the Golden City Council to please put the health of our youth before the tobacco industry’s profits to protect them from a lifetime of tobacco-related addiction, disease and premature death.

Valerie Borowiec, RN, BSN

Golden High School Nurse