A study published in the journal Tobacco Control found that several vaping manufacturers and distributors are offering scholarships to US high school and university students.
“E-cigarette scholarships to youth and young adults are concerning particularly now because of the vaping epidemic,” said coauthor Dr. Adam Goldstein, director of tobacco intervention programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“Having youth write essays about the positive benefits of vaping at the same time as the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has increased age restrictions to 21 shows a disconnect between the industries trying to increase vaping use and the policy makers trying to decrease such use among youth,” he told Reuters Health.
They searched online for documents related to scholarship opportunities from e-cigarette and vaping companies targeted to youth or young adults. Ultimately, they discovered 21 vaping-related entities, some offering multiple scholarship types. The scholarships ranged in value from $300 to $5,000.
