Emily Vespa | North Carolina Health News
Emily Vespa covers the North Carolina legislature as one of North Carolina Health News' 2024 summer interns. She graduated from NC State University in 2024, and while at NC State, she was the managing editor at Technician, the student-run paper.
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For two years, Austin Collins, who lives in Charlotte, consumed roughly 14 mg of nicotine a day — the equivalent of nine to 14 cigarettes — while vaping. Now, he consumes more than double the amount of nicotine, the equivalent of at least two packs of cigarettes, using nicotine pouches. They’ve exploded in popularity in the past few years, and one brand in particular has led the charge. -
North Carolina is teetering on the edge of losing roughly $5.4 million in federal funds for combating the opioid epidemic and supporting substance use disorder treatment. If the state doesn’t slash youth tobacco access, it could forfeit funding. But North Carolina’s tobacco laws have made that difficult.
