The private sector also plays a vital role in shaping public policy, just like the public sector, which we saw in the previous blog. Many factors influence and shape public policy and one of the key influences is the private sector. The private sector is a crucial stakeholder in both urban and economic development, being a significant contributor to national income and the principal job creator and employer (1). The private sector influences public policy through knowledge sharing, campaign contributions, and lobbying efforts (2).
The private sector both directly and indirectly influences the elected officials through the information shared. However, some argue that by partnering with the private sector, the public official is influenced and even forced to create public policy that is favorable to the private sector actors. Financial contributions to campaigns by private sector actors may be indirectly influencing the public sector officials. Lobbying public officials can also be powerful to influence policymaking.
Big tobacco companies like Altria Group, Ballantyne Brands, Hay Island Holding, Reynolds American, and Swedish Match AB, are some examples of private sectors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have guidance for collaboration with the private sector. Private companies have approached state and local agencies with proposals to financially support the implementation of prevention programs of vaping(3). Agencies should work together and use existing partnerships with national, state, and local education and health agencies, community-based organizations, universities, and others to fully consider and discuss the positive and negative outcomes that may occur as a result of any proposed partnership(3).
References
1) The role of private sector. (2020). Retrieved from https://gsdrc.org/topic-guides/urban-governance/elements-of-effective-urban-governance/the-role-of-the-private-sector/
2) The influence of the private sector on public policy (2018). Retrieved from https://medium.com/@jeremy.l.strickland/the-influence-of-the-private-sector-on-public-policy-7e570f4a673c
3) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Smoking and tobacco use. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/stateandcommunity/tobacco_control_programs/program_development/accepting_funds/index.htm
Annie's Blog 
Annie, I enjoyed reading your blog about the importance of instituting legislation on e-cigarettes. My clinical practice as a NP was primarily in public health, working for a rural health department, and I am passionate about advocating for health issues affecting teens including access to the HPV vaccine. I see vaping as a serious public health threat similar to the threat of STIs and therefore, I was interested in reading your blog.
In your last two blog posts, you discussed the influence that private and public sector organizations have on vaping legislation. I believe that the private tobacco industry is intentionally marketing to and deceiving children and that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s)public health policies and guidance in regards to vaping should influence policymakers to enact laws that define vaping products in the same way as they define tobacco products or make even stricter laws regarding vaping products, due to the evidence from the CDC regarding the dangers of these products.
I believe that the tobacco industry’s marketing of e-cigarettes with flavors such as candy, dessert, fruit, and buttery has been done specifically to attract children and teens to use these products and get them hooked, rather than to help them quit smoking with a “safer product. In 2019, Leventhal et al. found that teens who vaped non-traditional flavored e-cigarettes “(fruit, candy, sweet or dessert, buttery, blends or combinations, and other) versus exclusive use of tobacco, menthol or mint, or flavorless)” e-cigarettes were more likely to be vaping 6 months later (p.1). Furthermore, teens who vape are nearly 4 times more likely to start smoking cigarettes, not to stop smoking cigarettes with the help of a vaping product (Arizona Department of Health Service, 2020). Therefore, the big tobacco industry’s argument that vaping products can help teens quit smoking is not a valid argument since many teens are not using a vaping product to help them stop smoking and using a vaping product is often their first introduction to nicotine.
Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 2020b) stressed that vaping is not safe for kids and young adults, because the nicotine in them can harm the developing brain, which is not fully developed until a person reaches their mid-20s.
Most importantly, 64 deaths have occurred due to lung injury as a result of vaping as of February 4, 2020 (CDC, 2020a). Testing showed that terahydrocannabinol (THC) and vitamin E acetate in vaping products has been linked to the lung injuries that result in death (CDC, 2020b). Therefore, vaping is not a safe method to help a teen who is a smoker quit. Smoking cigarettes can lead to lung cancer, but vaping can lead to death after only one use. Clearly, e-cigarettes pose a serious health threat and legislation should be enacted to protect teens from the dangers of their use.
References
Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). (2020). Tobacco, vape, & e-cigarettes. https://www.azdhs.gov/prevention/tobacco-chronic-disease/tobacco-vape-e-cigarettes/index.php
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020a). Outbreak of lung injury associated with the use of e-cigarette, or vaping, products. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020b). Quick facts on the risks of e-cigarettes for kids, teens, and young adults. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html
Leventhal, A. M., Goldenson, N. I., Cho, J., Kirkpatrick, M. G., McConnell, R. S., Stone, M. D., Pang, R. D., Audrain-McGovern, J., & Barrington-Trimis, J. L. (2019). Flavored e-cigarette use and progression of vaping in adolescents. Pediatrics, 144(5). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-0789
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I like how eloquently you stated that the private sector influences public policy and is a major player within the economy. I’m assuming these big tobacco companies you mentioned in your blog post are pro vaping. Are there any private sector companies that are against vaping and support your policy issue? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a public sector that can influence private sector companies to implement vaping prevention programs, but I’m curious to see how large a role they play compared to the public sector prevention programs. This makes me think of D.A.R.E that was in schools when I was growing up. I haven’t heard of any programs like this rolling out specifically for vaping, but this is something I feel there is clearly a space for. According to D.A.R.E’s website this is now being incorporated in their education which is great. They post educational material online as well as news stories about current events for vaping prevention. This needs more recognition because I had no idea until your post prompted me to look further, for that thank you.
References
D.A.R.E. (2020). Education curricula. Retrieved from https://dare.org/education/
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Annie, vaping among teenagers has skyrocketed in the recent years. A 2018 survey of 44,000 students on drug, alcohol, and cigarette use in 8th, 10th, and 12th graders showed that about 37% of 12th graders reported vaping in 2018, compared with 28% in 2017. When asked about nicotine, flavored liquids, marijuana, and hash oil, the survey showed that vaping of each substance has increased (1).
The 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey showed disturbing rates of e-cigarette use among both middle and high school students. More than 5 million youth reported having used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days and nearly one million reported daily use (2).
As you have stated in your post, private sector is a major player that plays a vital role in shaping public policy. By sharing information, private sector can influence the elected officials.
Earlier this year, Arizona high schoolers joined the American Heart Association at the Arizona State Capitol for an anti-vaping campaign. With their “Quit Lying” campaign, they aimed to bring attention to the tobacco companies spending millions of dollars on marketing the vaping products to youth, and to raise awareness of the dangers of vaping.
1. NIH News in Health (2019). Health capsule: Vaping rises among teens. Retrieved from https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2019/02/vaping-rises-among-teens
2. U.S. FDA (2019). Youth tobacco use: Results from the National Youth Tobacco Survey. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/youth-and-tobacco/youth-tobacco-use-results-national-youth-tobacco-survey
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Although tobacco cigarette consumption has declined in minors, the use of e-cigarettes has surpassed the use of tobacco cigarettes (Yule & Tinson, 2017). E-cigarettes attract their popularity with anosmic and flavorful smoke, accessibility, and false beliefs that “it is safer than cigarettes.” In August 2019, there was a sudden outbreak of respiratory illnesses among youths, which resulted in 47 deaths from vape products that contained black market THC oils and the additive, vitamin E acetate (Glasser et al., 2020). In order to understand the high prevalence of e-cigarette smoking habit, I believe it is crucial to understand the underlying motive for e-cigarette use. The findings from studies show that many adolescents use e-cigarettes for relaxation or withdrawal rituals to escape from day-to-day anxiety, as well as carousing rituals to use e-cigarettes as an acceptable form of rebellion and a sense of belonging and sociability by forming a sub-culture of “vapers” (Yule & Tinson, 2017). Due to its accessibility and low cost, many adolescents acquire the habit of e-cigarette smoking without fully acknowledging the potential adverse consequences on their health. With collaborative effort with school, healthcare professionals, and public and private sectors, adolescents and the general public, including their parents, require more education on health risks. Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe) was founded by three mothers for advocacy and implementation of education organizations nationwide to protect youths from smoking e-cigarettes.
References
Glasser, A., Johnson, A., Niaura, R., Abrams, D., & Pearson, J. (2020). Youth vaping and tobacco use in context in the United States: Results from the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Nicotine & Tobacco Research : Official Journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, January 13, 2020.
Yule, J., & Tinson, J. (2017). Youth and the sociability of “Vaping”. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 16(1), 3-14.
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