It’s always something. For those worried about the health effects of tobacco, we now have e-cigarettes, which seem especially appealing to teens.
E-cigarettes, like the popular Juul brand, are electronic devices that turn liquid — usually containing nicotine and flavorants — into an inhalable vapor.
E-cigarette vaping is considered safer than smoking, and that’s been part of its marketing, but there has been little research to quantify the risks associated with inhaling the vaporized liquids, and little enforcement of laws that ban sales to minors. Health advocates — both nationally and locally — worry about the popularity of vaping among children and the potential impact on adult smoking rates in the future.
A recent government-commissioned report found “substantial evidence” that young people who use e-cigarettes are more likely to try smoking.
E-cigarettes and other vaping devices have grown into a $4 billion market in the U.S. despite little research on their long-term effects, including whether they are helpful in helping smokers quit — part of their marketing buzz.
Research shows that many e-cigarettes contain trace amounts of chemicals like formaldehyde, but it’s unclear whether they exist at levels that can cause long-term health problems. Most researchers agree any risks of e-cigarettes do not approach the long-established harms of traditional cigarettes, which cause cancer, heart disease and lung disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that while e-cigarettes contain fewer toxic substances than the approximately 7,000 found in regular cigarettes, the devices can still expose users to cancer-causing chemicals.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gained authority to regulate e-cigarettes in 2016, but anti-smoking advocates have criticized the agency for not being more aggressive in its policing to stop companies from appealing to underage users, particularly with liquid flavors like mango, cool cucumber and creme brulee.
A recent Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health survey found 81 percent of minors who currently vape said their primary reason for doing so is “availability of appealing flavors.”
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the FDA, has announced an enforcement “blitz on retailers” for violations related to sales of Juul and other vaping devices to minors.
The FDA issued warnings to 40 retail and online stores. Investigators targeted 7-Eleven locations, Shell gas stations and Cumberland Farms convenience stores as well as vaping shops.
FDA regulators also asked manufacturer Juul Labs to turn over documents about the design, marketing and ingredients of its product. The rare request focuses on whether certain product features are specifically appealing to young people.
Overall, e-cigarette use by high school students increased 900 percent from 2011 to 2015, according to a 2016 report by the U.S. surgeon general.
We’re gratified that the federal food and drug regulators have finally taken notice of the danger inhalable vapors like Juul may pose, are taking steps to better understand the threat and carrying out enforcement action against those who sell to minors.
Locally, prevention specialists Melinda Calianos of the Hampshire-Franklin Tobacco-Free Community Partnership and Kat Allen from the Communities That Care Coalition recently hosted a presentation to report good and bad news about smoking and vaping among teens.
According to Calianos, teens who vape are four times more likely to smoke cigarettes. Last year’s survey of local eighth-, 10th-, and 12th-graders reported that only 13 percent of high school seniors have used cigarettes in the past 30 days, down from 23 percent in 2003. That’s good news.
However, Calianos added, in 2017 half of 12th-graders reported trying vaping at least once, and only 12 percent reported vaping regularly. Not so good news, if you see this as a possible health hazard or a gateway to tobacco smoking later.
Now here’s better news. Overall, 81 percent of local students surveyed this past year reported that they don’t use tobacco or vapor products.
Calianos and Allen assert that parents have played a large role in reduction of smoking and vaping by reinforcing the message that most kids don’t smoke, thereby reducing the peer pressure to smoke.
We support the message that Allen and Calianos have been sending to parents. Your children do take cues from the adults in their lives. So continue to let them know that smoking is definitely bad for their health and that vaping might not be much better.