Healthcare officials have created awareness that permitting tobacco smoking or vaping in public places exposes non-tobacco users to secondhand products, facilitating the renormalization of smoking behaviors among the public and youths. Cigarette smoking is linked to several clinical cardiovascular diseases. The diseases include chronic health diseases, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and heart and respiratory diseases. The burden and scope contributed by cigarette smoking on public health is extensive. However, several states in the United States have continuously increased the legalization of tobacco products despite smoking tobacco being a health concern. In the 1990s, tobacco industries built their future consumer base by attracting children to nicotine addiction at a younger age through movies and cartoons. However, campaigns against tobacco consumption helped free kids, lowering the percentage of youth smokers from 28% in 2001 to below 8% (Durbin). Still, it is crucial to understand that it is challenging to ban a multi-billion-dollar tobacco industry. Therefore, in 2003, the e-cigarette industry was introduced despite vaping being a significant public health concern among youths. Although e-cigarette lowers health effects on adult smokers, the emergence of e-cigarettes has proved appealing to youths and posed new challenges requiring FDA regulations.
Electronic cigarettes are proposed to provide some benefits to pregnant mothers and adults who smoke. When users breathe e-cigarette aerosols the device provides the capability for exhaling toxic substances like lung-cancer-causing chemicals, volatile organic compounds, nicotine, flavorings, and ultrafine particles. Besides, tobacco companies, several organizations, and individuals like Carl Philips have promoted e-cigarette technology as a tool for lowering harmful carcinogenic chemicals. Even though e-cigarettes do not produce carbon monoxide or tar, which are two harmful effects of tobacco smoke, the vapor and liquid contain toxic substances. The nicotine present in the e-cigarette can still cause addiction, reduced impulse control, and mood disorder. According to Lee et al., carbonyl compounds such as acetaldehyde present in e-cigarettes have been classified as possible carcinogenic substances to humans. Similarly, clinical trials have not proven that e-cigarettes are not lung-cancer-causing tobacco (Durbin). Therefore, with the rise of e-cigarette consumption among young adults and youths, the product still has some side effects that can affect users.
The daily e-cigarette consumption has been increasing among youths and young adults in the United States. The majority of tobacco users begin consumption before reaching 18 years old (Barrington-Trimis et al.). According to Durbin, in 2018, the percentage of high school students vaping increased by 78 per cent, while in middle school, the percentage rose by 48%. Similar tobacco industry marketing strategies have attributed to the rise in consumption. In the past, companies used tobacco-chewing baseball players and smoking movie stars to sweep away fear among kids (Durbin).
Meanwhile, currently, the new e-cigarette industries have introduced and marketed new flavors like cotton candy and tutti frutti as a strategy to attract kids. Although the FDA has introduced anti-vaping ads, the regulation has not thoroughly addressed youth vaping. The dramatic increase in vaping is a health concern among youths and can result in the lifelong addiction of a generation in the US. Therefore, the FDA must enact policies that ban kid-friendly flavors. Such regulations will help in eliminating e-cigarette products that are marketed unlawfully, thereby helping in lowering smoking among youths.
In conclusion, the rise in the use of e-cigarettes through vaping has resulted in new nicotine addiction among youths in America, which is a global public health concern. The use of e-cigarettes stimulates several questions on its long-term impact on health. We understand that mitigating health risks requires proposing actions that control or prevent the use of e-cigarettes among youths. Therefore, the FDA needs to prohibit children-friendly tobacco flavors to minimize the number of electronic cigarette products present in the marketplace that attract children. Through such policies, America can lower healthcare costs associated with tobacco-related diseases and improve public health.
Works Cited
Barrington-Trimis, Jessica L., et al. “Trends in the age of cigarette smoking initiation among young adults in the US from 2002 to 2018.” JAMA Network Open 3.10 2020: e2019022-e2019022.
Durbin, Dick. “The Vaping Epidemic Is a Major Public Health Threat to Our Kids.” CNN, 10 Sept. 2019, edition.cnn.com/2019/07/25/opinions/vaping-epidemic-is-a-major-public-health-threat-to-our-kids-durbin/index.html. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.
Lee, Mi-Sun, et al. “Nicotine, aerosol particles, carbonyls and volatile organic compounds in tobacco-and menthol-flavored e-cigarettes.” Environmental Health 16.1 2017: 1–10.
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