Imagine a teenager smoking a pack of Marlboro Lights — not likely. What about a strawberry-and-kiwi-flavored vape with a pink-and-green body? Much easier, right?

Vapes, or e-cigarettes, are promoted using flavors similar to candy. In Hawaii, local flavors such as li hing and lilikoi are popular. The devices are usually colorful with various designs.

Every day, middle and high school students like me are tempted by these trendy e-cigarettes. We hear an ad on the radio, walk by a vape vendor at the mall or, most common of all, scroll onto an Instagram ad. It follows us everywhere. Eventually, we become hooked. It’s only natural; how can a teenager compete with the capitalistic marketing strategies of greedy tobacco corporations?

If it looks and smells like a toy, it shouldn’t contain nicotine.

Swan Kim

Kakaako

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