The vaping epidemic that’s taken over the world today needs drastic action to end it. The irony about vaping is that it was originally intended to stop people from smoking in general, and yet it’s actually getting younger people addicted and killing those who vape at a quicker pace than those who smoke cigarettes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food Drug Administration and other clinics, vaping has caused seven deaths to date and more than 350 hospitalizations. The Trump administration and the state of  New York, have moved forward in banning flavored vaping products completely, however that is not enough change  to resolve this issue.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has allotted $20 million to run anti-vaping advertisements in the hope of stopping the epidemic.

According to the CDC, “e-cigarettes are devices that deliver an aerosol to the user by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. E-cigarettes can also be used to deliver marijuana or other substances.”

The CDC has now found that in 2019, 27.5 percent of high schoolers used an e-cigarette within the previous month, compared with 20.8 percent in 2018. This increasing trend  must be stopped. E-cigarettes and vaping pens should not be banned but rather taxed heavily and regulated with a lowered nicotine content.

A lowered nicotine content would also decrease health issues with smokers and vapers, because it “can cause an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, flow of blood to the heart and a narrowing of the arteries (vessels that carry blood). Nicotine may also contribute to the hardening of the arterial walls, which in turn, may lead to a heart attack,” according to The American Heart Association.

Taxing and regulation will not only help ween people off of cigarettes if they use vaping for the intended reason, but will also prevent new youths from getting get addicted to nicotine, which is the  opposite reaction of what we want to happen — having more smokers.