Learn the Products
Tobacco is getting tougher to recognize
To view all of the products that have been authorized and are legal to market in the U.S., visit the FDA Searchable Tobacco Products Database
Cigarette use may be dropping among Missouri's youth, but newer, less recognizable tobacco products are gaining popularity fast. There are even “tobacco-free” products now, made with synthetic nicotine that’s just as addictive as the plant-based original. It all just goes to show there’s no such thing as a safe tobacco product.
Tobacco companies are working hard to make their products cheaper, more accessible, and easier to hide from adults than ever before. Designed to deliver nicotine, a highly addictive additive that can keep kids hooked for life, these new products come in a wide range of shapes and styles—from nicotine toothpicks, and little cigars, to disposable e-cigs and wearable vaping gear like hoodies and backpacks. Take a closer look at the new tobacco products your kids are seeing in stores and in ads, at parties, and on YouTube.
The Latest Vaping Concern: “Smart” Vapes
Disposable and rechargeable “smart vapes” are available in catchy-named flavors like “merry berry” and “cherry pop” and have built-in, high-definition screens preloaded with multiple games, including ripped-off versions of classics like Tetris and Pac-Man. Some products can offer digital prizes as incentives depending on how much a person vapes, and critics caution they’re being used to lure Missouri’s youth into nicotine addiction. These features make it harder for youth to resist trying the products.
When e-cigarettes look like smartphones or gaming consoles, it becomes easier for young users to hide them in plain sight. These trending products are particularly problematic in schools and at home, where adult supervision is meant to deter underage vaping.
Take a closer look at tobacco's addictive products
The more you know about the tobacco industry’s dangerous product lineup, the easier it will be to talk to your kids about the serious damage youth tobacco use can do.
Learn to spot nicotine in disguise
One way to keep kids hooked on nicotine? Keep family members at home (and teachers at school) from finding out that the young people they look after are addicted. Tobacco companies are selling a range of products specifically designed to look like everyday objects: vapes hidden in hoodies and backpacks, e-cigarettes that look like toys, make-up compacts, or pens and nicotine-filled flavor pods that can pass as USB drives. Tobacco products are getting harder and harder to spot.
What to look for:
"Tobacco-free" synthetic nicotine
Tobacco companies may call these new products “pure” or “clean,” but the synthetic nicotine in new “tobacco-free” vapes and other products is still powerfully addictive. In fact, many of these products contain more kid-hooking nicotine than ever before.
Toy-like shapes and colors
Electronic smoking devices come in many shapes and sizes, but many of the most popular products come in slick shapes and fun, flashy patterns and colors. They may remind you of fidget-spinners and other small toys.
Stealthy wearables
Watch out for products that integrate e-cigarettes into items that young people like to carry or wear—like a backpack, hoodie, or smartwatch. Their secret pockets, hidden tubes, and mouthpieces help kids vape unnoticed.
Look-alike devices
You may need to give the items in your child’s backpack a second look. Tobacco companies are churning out vaping products designed to look just like everyday objects, making it easy to mistake an e-cigarette for a makeup compact, a USB drive, a writing pen, or highlighter.
Deceptive shipments
Tobacco companies make it easy for young people to purchase vaping products online, using credit, debit, or gift cards. Few online retailers actually verify a customer’s age, and many promise “discreet” billing and shipping—including plain packages and purposely vague invoices and shipping labels—just in case parents check the mail.
Smart Vapes Flood The Market – We Should Be Concerned
These products are advertised as having a variety of designs and functions that appeal to youth, such as the ability to play games, connect to a smartphone, receive text or call notifications, play music, or personalize products with custom wallpaper and rewards.
Candy flavors have gone disposable
They’re cheap, candy-sweet, and way too easy for young people to purchase. Disposable vapes are just one of the many dangerous tobacco products unaffected by federal restrictions on flavored e-cigarettes.
Support adding e-cigarettes to Missouri's Clean Indoor Air Law
Missouri is one of 32 states that does not prohibit e-cigarette use in all public places. A revision to the law in 2020 prohibits using e-cigarettes in any indoor area of a public elementary or secondary school building or on buses used to transport students to/from school or school-sponsored activities. School boards can allow e-cigarettes in any outdoor area and facilities students cannot access. You can help change that. Find out how you can support comprehensive tobacco-free and vape-free policies for healthier communities in the state.
Take the Next Step
Knowledge is power. Find out how the tobacco industry creates, packages, and markets its dangerous products to hook young people in your community.
