Op-Ed: CUSP Chairwoman Shares How To Protect Kids From Illicit Vapes In Disguise

In a recent op-ed published in the Washington Reporter, CUSP Chairwoman Mary Bono warned about the threat illegal vapes pose to kids across the country and shared what lawmakers and community leaders are doing to combat the threat.

Informing readers about how these harmful products are designed to appeal to younger risers, Bono wrote “They are hiding in plain sight in store fronts of smoke shops that traffic in other forms of drugs, firearms, criminal activity and the violence that comes with it. Lawmakers, community leaders, and parents are starting to push back, but the threat is still very much on shelves.” 

The op-ed didn’t just warn about the threat, but also focused on successful efforts in several communities where leaders are rightly treating these shops as the new “broken windows” of community decline. Importantly, the op-ed highlights how this is a bipartisan issue with 80 percent of voters wanting stronger enforcement on illegal vapes and the smoke shops that sell them. CUSP’s own nationwide survey of parents showed overwhelming concern about the spread of illicit vape products and strong support for tougher enforcement against the stores that sell them.

Read the full op-ed here.