The growing use of e-cigarettes especially among the youth is a serious trend that poses a real health risk. Due to a variety of reasons, electronic cigarettes shouldn’t be advertised as a healthy alternative to smoking cigarettes.
Although fewer people are using or beginning smoking cigarettes than ever before many are using alternative types of tobacco as well as electronic nicotine delivery system. The rise in the use of electronic cigarettes (also known as vaping) by children and teenagers over the last few years poses an extremely serious health risk for the public.
These battery-powered devices come in a variety of forms and appear like traditional cigarettes, pens, or elegant technological gadgets. The users inhale and exhale a similar aerosol to a vapor. This method of inhaling nicotine can pose health risks for users as well as to non-users.
A lot of negatives. A few potential upsides.
The promoters of electronic cigarettes claim that the devices could help smokers quit. However, more research is required to determine whether they’re an effective method to stop smoking. The research suggests that users tend to keep smoking cigarettes and vaping this is often referred to in the context of “dual usage.”
The American Heart Association recommends proven methods for quitting smoking.
Many believe that vaping isn’t as harmful as smoking tobacco. Although e-cigarette aerosol doesn’t contain all the nicotine-rich smoke from tobacco it’s still not completely secure. Here are a few reasons:
Many e-cigarettes provide nicotine, which is extremely addictive and can damage the brain development of teenagers as well as fetuses and children pregnant women. Certain types of e-cigarettes expose users to higher levels of nicotine than conventional cigarettes.
Alongside nicotine, electronic cigarettes contain potentially harmful substances, such as diacetyl (a chemical associated with lung cancer) and cancer-causing chemicals. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as well as heavy metals, such as nickel or tin as well as lead. The users breathe in these harmful substances, while non-users are at risk of exposure to secondhand smoke.
The liquid in e-cigarettes could be harmful in addition to its intended usage. Adults and children have both been poisoned through inhaling, swallowing, or absorption of it through the eyes or skin.
Electronic cigarettes have been linked to hundreds of cases of serious lung injuries and some of them even resulting in deaths. Although the cause of the problem is not yet confirmed the CDC suggests that people do not make use of electronic cigarettes.
The biggest health risk could be the fact that the growing popularity of vaping could “re-normalize” smoking cigarettes, which has been decreasing for a long time. If the gains gained through hard work are reversed, the global fight against smoking cigarettes would be devastating. Smoking cigarettes is the most cause of death that can be prevented and is the cause of 480,000 American deaths each year.
The threat is to children and youngsters.
Tobacco companies hope to draw an entire generation of people on smoking and nicotine.
They spent over $8.6 billion on marketing campaigns that were aggressive in 2017 all by itself. This is over $23 million per day, and nearly one million dollars every hour!
Around the majority of high and middle secondary school pupils — which is more than 4 of the 5 children were exposed to ads for e-cigarettes in the year 2016.
E-cigarettes are currently the most popular method of smoking tobacco for adolescents and kids. In 2018, the use of teenagers in high school in the U.S. doubled from the prior year.
Many teens say they’ve had a go at e-cigarettes partly due to the attractive flavors. Over 80% of teens say that their first e-cigarette was flavored.
More research and effort are required.
The Surgeon General has deemed the use of electronic cigarettes among teenagers is a “public health hazard.” The American Heart Association shares that belief. This is why we support stricter regulations that:
Incorporate e-cigarettes into smoke-free laws.
Tax and regulate e-cigarettes the same way as the other products from tobacco.
Eliminate all flavors, including menthol, that make the products more attractive to children and youngsters.
Implement the new federal law that increased the age minimum for tobacco products to be sold from 18 to 21 years old.
The AHA believes in the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory authority on electronic cigarettes as well as various other cigarettes.
What’s the most important thing?
Young people, children, and pregnant women shouldn’t consume or be exposed to electronic cigarettes.
Anyone who is trying to stop smoking cigarettes or smoking tobacco should consider the most effective tobacco cessation treatments before attempting e-cigarettes that haven’t been proven to be effective.
People who don’t currently smoke cigarettes or consume tobacco products shouldn’t use electronic cigarettes.
The long-term health consequences of electronic cigarettes are not fully recognized as of yet. However, research clearly shows that vaping isn’t a secure or healthy substitute for smoking cigarettes. We’ll continue to promote research into the health implications of this, as well as other products from tobacco that aim to attract new generations of consumers.
Sources:
American Heart Association Presidential Advisory new and Emerging Tobacco Products and the Nicotine Endgame: The Role of Robust Regulation and Comprehensive Tobacco Control and Prevention, 2019
Smoking in America is on the rise: why more Americans are quitting smoking, AHA News, August 2018,
The chemicals used in tobacco flavoring could cause damage to blood vessels AHA News, July 2018
Know the Risks: E-cigarettes and Young People, Office of the Surgeon General, US Department of Health and Human Services website, updated 2019, e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov
Electronic Cigarettes, Centers for Disease Control website, last updated in 2018,