Opinion: AJC Readers write

FDA fails to protect youth from dangers of vaping

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it authorized four flavored e-cigarette products, including mango and blueberry flavors. This marks the first time FDA has authorized a flavored e-cigarette product (other than menthol and tobacco flavors) and it’s very concerning for the health of our kids.

After years of recognizing the dangers flavored e-cigarettes pose to youth, it is deeply troubling to see FDA ignore the scientific evidence and reverse course. According to FDA’s own report, youth often start vaping because of flavored products, including fruit flavors.

More than 1.6 million middle and high school students currently vape, and 90% of those kids use flavored products, according to the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey. In Georgia, nearly 1 in 5 high school students vape, which is over double the national average for e-cigarette use.

Proven policies include comprehensive flavored tobacco laws, high tobacco taxes, strong smokefree laws, and fully funding tobacco control programs. We have done a tremendous job in reducing smoking over the last 50 years and even saw a 70% decrease in youth e-cigarette use from 2019-2024. But we cannot go backwards.

With the FDA failing to protect our kids from tobacco use, Georgia lawmakers must take action to protect our youngest residents against the dangers of a lifelong addiction to nicotine.

DANNA THOMPSON, ROSWELL

ADVOCACY DIRECTOR

AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION, GEORGIA

Don’t fix Social Security on the backs of the rich

The letter “Overhauling Social Security is not that difficult” (Readers Write, June 23) suggests a financial solution apparently favored by socialists such as Sen. Bernie Sanders: bolstering the Social Security “trust fund” by applying the existing FICA tax rate to annual earnings up to $5 million, rather than the current cap of $184,500.

However, if the FICA taxable wage base is raised to $5 million, the current Social Security formula would dictate that these higher earners receive higher retirement benefits. This would negate a certain amount of the funding enhancement, unless the proposed “fix” is designed to collect extra funding from high earners without providing them any reciprocal increase in benefits.

Such an approach aligns with the socialist principle: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” In this view, those providing the additional funding simply “don’t need” the higher benefit, regardless of their increased contribution to the program. That’s a “fix” socialists could be proud of.

GREGORY MARSHALL, MARIETTA