By 
Don’t be Fooled – Tobacco companies are aggressively marketing deadly and addictive products while raking in billions of dollars in profits.
April 1 is Take Down Tobacco day, a national day of action and a program of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. This national day of action is an opportunity for us to come together, stand up to Big Tobacco, expose the tricks this industry uses to lure kids into addiction, and call for change.
Youth e-cigarette use remains a serious public health concern, and tobacco is still the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. and across the globe. Flavored e-cigarettes and high-nicotine vaping products continue to raise concerns among health experts who warn that these products are contributing to nicotine addiction among young people.
As of 2025, nearly 95% of disposable e-cigarette sales were flavored products, according to the fact sheet. Public health experts say these flavors can encourage young people to experiment and continue using the products longer. Eight out of 10 youth who have ever used tobacco initiated with a flavored product because the flavors are more appealing and lower young people’s perception of risk.
The wide variety of kid-friendly flavors like Straw-melon, Blue Oat Donut and Honeydew Pineapple, which are available in disposable vapes, have grown rapidly in recent years. They are easily accessible in stores and online. E-cigarettes must be authorized by the FDA to be legally sold in the United States. To date, according to the factsheet, only 30 tobacco-and menthol-flavored e-cigarettes have received FDA authorization. Illegal, unauthorized e-cigarettes remain widely available, with nearly 7,000 products on the market.
Another concern is the amount of nicotine these devices can deliver. Some modern disposable vapes contain extremely high levels of nicotine and allow users to take thousands of puffs. In comparison, a traditional cigarette typically provides about 10–15 puffs before it is finished.
For example, some popular disposable brands such as Elf Bar and Geek Bar advertise devices with 5,000 to 10,000 puffs or more. That amount of use can equal nicotine exposure from multiple packs of cigarettes, depending on the product. Stanford Medicine Reach Lab shares that 1 Elf Bar contains 650 mg of nicotine; which is equal to smoking 590 cigarettes – almost 30 packs of cigarettes!
The latest versions of disposal e-cigarettes often referred to as “smart vapes”, raise new risks to kids and are becoming increasingly popular. “Smart vapes” include screens that can feature games, Bluetooth connectivity for phone notifications, and customizable screens. According to the Office of the Surgeon General, the gamification of vaping, “Accelerates the risk of nicotine addiction combining the behavioral addiction of both nicotine and gaming.”
Health experts warn that adolescents may become addicted to nicotine more quickly than adults because their brains are still developing. Today’s e-cigarettes are bigger, stronger and cheaper than ever before, delivering massive doses of addictive nicotine at lower prices, increasing their appeal and risk to kids. Continued prevention, education, and awareness efforts are critical to helping youth avoid nicotine addiction.
We’re not fooled by these tactics and we can stop them. This year, the Campaign is challenging communities across the country to lift up their voices and call for change—protecting kids from nicotine addiction and holding the tobacco industry accountable.
Data and information for this article was provided through factsheets from The Campaign for Tobacco-Free kids web-site https://www.takedowntobacco.org/day-of-action-resources and from Stanford Medicine Reach Lab. For more information, contact the NE Prevention Resource Center at the Human Service Agency at (605) 884-3516 or visit www.humanserviceagency.org/NEPrevention. To stay informed, follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/NEPRC.HSA.
Kelli Rumpza is a community prevention specialist at the Human Service Agency.
