Vaping devices now being accepted on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
ASSOCIATED PRESS / 2014
A man exhales vapor as he demonstrates the use of his electronic cigarette in Salt Lake City. Several Utah vape shops are suing the state’s Department of Health over its emergency rule restricting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. The retailers claim in a lawsuit filed Monday in Utah state court that there is no evidence to suggest flavored e-cigarettes are causing lung damage and that the new rule could hurt business.
More than medication is being collected during Saturday’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. For the first time, vaping devices and cartridges also are being accepted for disposal.
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration says the change stemmed from concerns across about illnesses and death associated with vaping and the high rate of vaping among young people.
Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon says that as the agency helps get unwanted prescription drugs out of circulation, it is going a step further to combat an emerging public health threat.
More than 1,600 people, many of them teens and adults, have been sickened in a national vaping illness outbreak that appears to have started in March. At least 34 have died.
Now in its 10th year with twice-yearly collections, the administration’s drug take back day has collected more than 11 million pounds of expired, unused and unwanted prescription medications.
