More and more kids vape as the E-Cigarettes became popular in recent years. A new review from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) concluded that E-Cigarettes may help adults quit smoking regular tobacco products but, at the same time, may encourage kids to start smoking tobacco products.
Kids who vape may start smoking within a year
David Eaton, the leader of the team that made the review, considers that E-Cigarettes reduce the risks of smoking-related diseases in adults but when it comes to kids and adolescents, E-Cigarettes are encouraging kids to smoke tobacco products. After reviewing 15 studies, NAS concluded that teenagers and kids who vape E-Cigarettes may start smoking tobacco within a year.
Eaton concludes that E-Cigarettes are a way to quit smoking regular cigarettes only if they are exclusively used and not combined with regular cigs.
E-Cigarettes may not be as healthy as believed
E-Cigarettes are new products and they became more and more popular, lately, especially because of the massive advertising campaigns that promote them as healthy alternatives to regular cigarettes.
However, doctors don’t agree. Commonly, E-Cigarettes still contain nicotine even if they are marketed otherwise, so the addiction issue is not yet solved. Moreover, these products are not fully regulated by health authorities, thus they may not be healthy at all.
The FDA’s commissioner, Scott Gottlieb said that it is mandatory to put products such as E-Cigarettes under thorough regulatory programs to evaluate the risks. Unfortunately, such changes should have been done last year but the FDA delayed the whole process until now.
E-Cigs are considered safer because the vaping process doesn’t contain tar and other toxic elements that occur when smoking regular cigarettes. However, a study concluded that E-Cigarettes may increase cancer risk by 15% but more research in this regard is needed.
In conclusion, E-Cigarettes may encourage kids to start smoking regular tobacco products, therefore an awareness campaign in this directions should be beneficial.
