The Impact and Risks of E-Cigarettes on Adolescents and Adults

Aug.30.2022
E-cigarettes may help smokers quit, but recent data shows a rise in nicotine addiction among teens. Long-term effects are still unknown.

The Lafayette Journal and Courier, together with the Lafayette Post, report that electronic cigarettes may have both positive and negative effects on both adults and teenagers. The outcome may prove beneficial to one group while harmful to another.

 

Health officials in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, have stated that while research suggests that using e-cigarettes may help smokers quit, recent data indicates a surge in teenage nicotine addiction due to e-cigarette use.

 

According to Romesh, they believed that e-cigarettes could help people quit smoking, but in reality, since teenagers began using e-cigarettes, around 33-35% of high school sophomores have tried them. However, they have never truly smoked a cigarette.

 

Therefore, an interesting phenomenon is that those who did not smoke earlier seem to end up smoking eventually. Among the elderly demographic, using e-cigarettes seems to be able to help you quit smoking.

 

Researchers from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor conducted an annual drug use survey among eighth, tenth, and twelfth-grade students. The study found that in 2019, 16% of eighth-graders, 30% of tenth-graders, and 35% of twelfth-graders reported using e-cigarettes.

 

What is the difference between smoking and vaping?

 

According to VapingFacts.health, smoking provides nicotine to the smoker by burning tobacco. E-cigarettes, on the other hand, deliver nicotine through heating liquid and inhaling.

 

Is one more dangerous than the other?

 

Nicotine addiction is harmful to a person's health, regardless of how it is obtained. However, experts have stated that smoking poses greater health risks than vaping thus far.

 

According to the Indiana Cancer Consortium's excerpt on lung cancer, the majority of cases are caused by smoking. In fact, between 80% and 90% of deaths from lung cancer in the United States are attributed to smoking.

 

Research on electronic cigarettes is relatively new. Their long-term effects are still being observed because they were invented in 2003. Their popularity can be said to have reached its peak between late 2018 and 2019.

 

However, some people have stated that electronic cigarettes may not necessarily directly lead to lung cancer.

 

According to an article from the Moffitt Cancer Center in 2020, although the long-term effects of e-cigarettes are still being studied, research indicates that e-cigarettes do not directly cause lung cancer. However, for those who have never smoked before and do not intend to, e-cigarettes may increase the risk of developing lung cancer because most e-cigarette liquid contains nicotine and toxic chemicals.

 

According to a doctor, both electronic cigarettes and regular cigarettes contain nicotine, which studies have shown can be as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Clinical research director Michael Blaha of the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease wrote that this is a concerning issue. In fact, many electronic cigarette users may be exposed to higher levels of nicotine than those who use combustible tobacco products. Users can buy ultra-strength refill cartridges with higher concentrations of nicotine or increase the voltage of their e-cigarettes for a greater impact.

 

How does it affect people in different ways?

 

Smokers often find it difficult to quit due to the addictive nature of smoking. Research indicates that electronic cigarettes are similarly addictive.

 

Why did Romes observe different age groups have different reactions to e-cigarettes? The main determining factor in addiction to e-cigarettes seems to be whether a person previously smoked and quit using e-cigarettes or if they have never smoked and are using e-cigarettes as their main source of nicotine.

 

Loomis stated that most teenagers (generally today) do not smoke. Statistically speaking, if 33-35% of teenagers are seen vaping, they are likely to try cigarettes. However, will they go back to vaping? Loomis believes that the time during which e-cigarettes have been in existence is not long enough to fully comprehend its specific aspects.

 

How does smoking affect the state of Indiana?

 

Robins pointed out that although Indiana is not the worst state in terms of smoking rates, it is far from being the best. "I think overall Indiana is doing well, but in some southern states in the US you see very high smoking rates," Robins said. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of 2019, 18.5% to 23.8% of adults in Indiana were using cigarettes, reaching the highest category.

 

Other noteworthy statistical data.

 

The nationwide outbreak related to electronic cigarettes or their use is referred to as electronic cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). According to the 2020 fiscal year Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Annual Report from the Indiana Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from all 50 states have reported over 2,800 hospitalized or fatal cases of EVALI. In Indiana, there have been 60 confirmed cases and 6 deaths (as of 2020).

 

In 2018, electronic cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among high school (18.5%) and middle school (5.5%) students in Indiana.

 

According to the same report, the tobacco industry spends $293 million annually on marketing and promoting its products in Indiana, with the majority of that expenditure going towards sales point marketing strategies such as price discounts and in-store advertising.

 

Approximately 1,770 Native Americans die every year in Indiana due to exposure to secondhand smoke or smoking during pregnancy by others.

 

A report states that approximately one-quarter (58 million) of non-smokers in the United States are exposed to secondhand smoke, including 15 million children between the ages of 3 and 11.

 

The state of Indiana is actively working to create a smoke-free and vape-free environment, while also offering various plans and resources to assist smokers of all ages in quitting.

 

According to Romiss, the best approach would be to consult online resources and speak with your doctor. "Join a program that can assist you. Find someone accountable - that always helps.

 

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