BY ZACH KAHN in the UNITED STATES
After going on the US Treasury website this afternoon, Zach Kahn discovered the US Treasury sells forfeited items through their Executive Office of Assets Forfeiture (TEOAF).
As a person who loves looking for steals and deals on sports apparel, collectibles and memorabilia, Mr Kahn couldn’t resist checking out TEOAF’s auctions to see if they were selling vintage Panthers gear.
To my displeasure, they did not have any Carolina Panthers-related items for sale.
Instead, they had vapes. Multiple cases of them.
Now I don’t know about you, but doesn’t this seem not okay?
We all know that vapes are harmful.
The US Government itself states these messages on agency websites concerning the use of e-cigarettes, or vapes.
The FDA website states:
“These products deliver harmful chemicals and contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. Moreover, given the harmful chemicals found in e-cigarettes, further high-quality research on both short- and long-term health outcomes is needed. Given that there is no safe tobacco product, youth and adults who do not use tobacco products should not start using e-cigarettes”
”The Food and Drug Administration has alerted the public to thousands of reports of serious lung illnesses associated with vaping, including dozens of deaths.”
“Youth use of tobacco products in any form — including e-cigarettes — is unsafe. According to the CDC, nicotine poses unique dangers to young people. In addition to being highly addictive, nicotine can harm the developing adolescent brain, which continues to develop until about age 25.
“Young people who use nicotine may also be at risk for addiction to other drugs,” the US Department of Justice said.
Additionally, just last year, the Justice Department and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the creation of a federal multi-agency task force to combat the illegal distribution and sale of e-cigarettes.
The US Government seems to be hypocritically selling a product to citizens that they know is unsafe. It doesn’t appear to matter if they are selling it because they need to make up for $40 in unpaid taxes.
According to The US Senate, the Constitution’s first three words – “We The People” – affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve US citizens.
There is an argument to be made that the United States of America is failing to do so here.
Zach Kahn is a US teenager working to become a bona fide journalist from the United States. His work is republished with permission. You can follow Zach on substack here.
