Health News
Oregon Tops in
Illegal Tobacco
Sales to Minors
N
early one in three
retailers in Mult-
nomah
County
illegally sold tobacco to
minors last summer, accord-
ing to an annual report by
the federal office that funds
state prevention programs.
In fact, Oregon far outpaced
any other state in the illegal
sale of tobacco to kids.
That distinction could
jeopardize the federal block
grant for substance abuse
treatment and prevention,
which require statewide
rates remain below 20 per-
cent, officials told the
ucts on the market have
exploded, in kid-friendly
flavors such as Gummy
Bear and Captain Crunch,
officials said.
“Nicotine is a highly
addictive substance, and
young brains are particular-
ly susceptible,’’ said Dr.
Jennifer Vines, a family
physician who is the coun-
ty’s Deputy Health Officer.
“We know our young peo-
ple are an easy target.’’
She said even the
youngest kids are at risk and
calls to Poison Control have
increased nationwide as
small children have ingest-
ed e-liquid with flavors like
blackberry cobbler.
“Right now this is com-
‘It could mean a huge portion
of our treatment and
prevention dollars being taken
away if we don’t keep those
rates down’
Multnomah County Board
of Health on Tuesday, Nov.
25.
The State has so far avoid-
ed any funding cuts because
retailers in other Oregon
counties made fewer illegal
sales, thereby offsetting the
31 percent reported in Mult-
nomah
County.
The
statewide rate was 22.5 per-
cent in 2013, just inside the
allowable 3-percent margin
of error.
Even then Oregon retail-
ers were caught selling
tobacco to minors at more
than double the nationwide
average of 9.9 percent,
according to an analysis of
sales data reported by the
federal Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services
Administration.
“What the number is tied
to is our federal substance
abuse and treatment block
grant,” Oregon Health
Authority’s Jeff Ruscoe told
the Board on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately that’s the
majority of our treatment
and prevention dollars for
the state of Oregon for alco-
hol and drug abuse. It could
mean a huge portion of our
treatment and prevention
dollars being taken away if
we don’t keep those rates
down.”
The warning comes as an
increasing number of Ore-
gon teens also report using
nicotine via electronic ciga-
rettes — which are
unregulated at the federal,
state and local level. E-ciga-
rettes are delivery devices
that heat up a liquid mix of
nicotine that is then inhaled.
The number of e-cig prod-
pletely legal,’’ Vines told
the board at a hearing
Nov.13. “All of these prod-
ucts are completely legal for
anyone of any age.”
Chair Deborah Kafoury
PHOTO COURTESY NXNE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
Submitted by
Kate Willson
Multnomah County
Insurance Signups
The North by Northeast Community Health Center is enrolling people for insurance coverage under
the Affordable Care Act. Enrollment coordinator Dolly England helps each client work through the
forms, as she did the Bruce, above, who is coping with severe diabetes. The Center this year has
been named as a recipient in the Willamette week Give!Guide, with a matching grant from
legacy Health. Make a contribution at www.giveguide.com, and find out more about enrollment
help at www.nxneclinic.org or by calling 503-287-4932.
how to curb the use of e-cig-
arettes by teens.
Most states require ven-
dors obtain a license to sell
tobacco, a mechanism that
allows the state to educate
retailers and enforce laws.
But not Oregon. Most states
prohibit the use of e-ciga-
rettes by minors. But not
Oregon.
Last year Rep. Andy
Olson (R-Albany) intro-
“We’re not talking about
whether these are better for
adults,” Chair Kafoury said
during Tuesday’s briefing.
“We’re
talking
about
whether they’re good for
kids.”
Environmental
Health
Director Dr. Jae Douglas
recommended the county
ban vendors from selling e-
cigarettes to minors and ban
minors from using them.
She also recommended
expanding the county ban
their use anywhere where
cigarettes are banned under
the Oregon Clean Air Act.
The board has already
banned their use in county
buildings.
Douglas also recommend-
ed the county consider how
to regulate the sale of all
nicotine products.
“You’ve given us a lot to
think about,” Kafoury said.
“Any policy we undertake
as Multnomah County
Commission really is con-
tingent on support of all our
jurisdictions. I look forward
to our continued conversa-
tions about what steps we
should take and when we
should take those.”
‘Nicotine is a highly addictive
substance, and young brains
are particularly susceptible’
last week directed the
Health Department to pro-
pose recommendations on
how to curb the use of
tobacco and e-cigarettes by
minors. Health officials
Tuesday addressed both
how to better regulate
tobacco sales to minors and
duced HB 4073. It would
have extended current
tobacco laws to prohibit sale
to and use of e-cigarettes by
minors. The bill failed after
heavy lobbying by adults
who said e-cigarettes helped
them stop smoking.
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November 26, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 9