The usage of electronic cigarettes (or “e-cigarettes”) enables the user to breathe in nicotine vapour as opposed to smoke. We call this vaping. The main addictive substance in tobacco cigarettes is nicotine. E-cigarettes function by heating a liquid, which often includes compounds such as nicotine and flavourings. They don’t burn tobacco, therefore they don’t produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of tobacco smoke’s most harmful byproducts for your health. E-cigarettes have been around for several generations and are available in disposable and refillable/rechargeable varieties.
According to research, more young people are using e-cigarettes. In January 2022, 15% of 18-year-old survey participants in Great Britain smoked e-cigarettes, up from 11% in January 2021, according to a recent study by University College London. In contrast, adults as a whole only had 8%. Over the same time period, the percentage of 18-year-old vapers who use disposable e-cigarettes rose dramatically from 1% to 57%.
There are worries that teens who do not smoke are being targeted by e-cigarette advertising rather than smokers wanting to quit. According to studies, teens who have never smoked or vaped are more likely than adults who smoke to have seen advertisements for e-cigarettes. According to The Times, e-cigarettes’ vibrant colours and variety of flavours, including “cotton candy” and “lemon tart,” appeal to young people. The promotion of e-cigarettes to minors on social media sites like TikTok worries Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the public health nonprofit Action on Smoking and Health.
Nicotine-containing e-cigarettes cannot be sold to those under the age of 18. Commentators have drawn attention to cases of minors using e-cigarettes, nevertheless. E-cigarettes are offered in stores that haven’t previously sold tobacco or alcohol, and staff members aren’t necessarily aware of the rules for age verification, according to trading standards officers. According to reports, e-cigarettes are also sold online from retailers like Amazon and eBay, where they are occasionally mislabeled as items that do not require age verification.
A health risk?
Use of e-cigarettes may harm one’s respiratory system. According to research, e-cigarette users among young people are twice as likely to have a persistent cough as non-users. Through disruption of gas exchange and tissue inflammation, vaping can impair lung function. Additionally, it can weaken immunity, raising the possibility of respiratory infections. E-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury is the term used to describe lung damage caused by vaping (EVALI). The median age of EVALI patients in Illinois and Wisconsin, US, was found to be 21 by a public health inquiry.
Additionally, nicotine may harm one’s health. Teenagers are more prone than adults to developing a nicotine addiction. Chronic nicotine use can affect how the brain develops. This can exacerbate mood disorders, such as depression and suicidal thoughts, and cognitive and attention deficit disorders. Popular disposable e-cigarettes frequently have the legal 20 mg/ml nicotine strength limit. One manufacturer claims that the nicotine level of their disposable e-cigarette is similar to 40–50 cigarettes.
Regular e-cigarette users are more frequently reporting issues with their oral health. According to a South Korean study, vaping may not be a risk-free alternative to smoking for maintaining good oral health because it is highly connected with gum disease.
Some medical professionals have expressed worry that e-cigarettes could serve as a stepping stone for young people to tobacco use. According to one study, young individuals who use e-cigarettes are more than three times as likely to start smoking cigarettes as those who have never used them. Other experts, however, contend that those who experiment with e-cigarettes are more likely to experiment with tobacco smoking in any case. According to a study in the academic journal Addiction, among those between the ages of 16 and 24 there is no statistically significant correlation between the incidence of e-cigarette usage and ever having smoked regularly.
E-cigarettes, according to Cancer Research UK, are advantageous for those who have previously smoked, but they shouldn’t be used by those who have never smoked because it is not known how they will affect their long-term health. To ensure that “they are exclusively used by smokers while making a quit attempt or to prevent relapse,” they ask for “effective regulation” and assert that “non-smokers should never use e-cigarettes.”
How are countries reacting to this?
The UK government declared its intention for England to be “smoke-free” by 2030 in 2019. Only 5% of the population is considered to be smoke-free. A new tobacco control strategy for England will be published, according to the government. This will contain policies pertaining to cessation methods, such as e-cigarettes. The government’s regulatory framework “aims to maximise the opportunity for smokers to use vaping as a strategy to stop,” Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care Maggie Throup stated in response to a written question on June 23, 2022. The use of vaping devices by “non-smokers and young people,” Ms. Throup continued, was something the government wished to prevent.
The government released an impartial study by Dr. Javed Khan in June 2022 regarding their goal of making society “smoke-free.” To reach “smoke-free” by 2030, the Khan study stated that “providing vaping as an alternative to smoking” was a “must do.” The assessment also mentioned comments made by school and college administrators who claimed that vaping had become an issue in common areas like playgrounds. Leaders at schools and colleges claimed that there was “a surge in related disciplinary action” and that vapes were “too freely available to young people under 18”. Professor Linda Bauld of public health at the University of Edinburgh said it was “critical to strike the proper balance between supporting smokers in their efforts to stop and safeguarding the young from beginning to vape.”
According to the government, it is taking into account the Khan review’s suggestions to reduce the number of young people who start vaping. The government will “watch the evidence on usage among young people and vaping restrictions are kept under review,” according to Lord Kamall, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, in response to a written question on June 28, 2022.
On April 29, 2022, the Scottish government announced the start of an inquiry into tightening the laws governing vaping product promotion and advertising.
The use of e-cigarettes has been regulated in other nations. Juul, a popular e-cigarette brand among young people, was recently outlawed in the US. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there is not enough information to determine if marketing the company’s products is “appropriate for the protection of public health.” Three other brands, however, were discovered by a federal poll to be more well-liked among middle and high school students than Juul.
Ref: https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/vaping-among-teens-a-growing-trend/
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