Electronic Cigarettes

In the article "Electronics cigarettes growing in popularity with teens" it says, in the recent years the use of electronic cigarettes among teens has nearly doubled. A new federal report says that one out of ten American teens have used an electronic cigarette, 3% of middle school students have given it a try as well. That means about 1.78 million children and teens have tried smoking a battery powered cigarette. These electronic cigarettes are no better then regular cigarettes, they have nicotine and traces of cancer causing compounds have been found. The battery powered cigarette comes in flavors such as mint or chocolate which has health advocates fearing that it will turn teens on to regular cigarettes. The risk of nicotine addiction because of electronic cigarettes has become a serious concern. 76.3% of e-cigarette smokers have also smoked regular cigarettes. This shows a concern to those students who have had e-cigarettes but have not yet tried regular cigarettes. Smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States. Erika Sward says with all the flavors offered it is no question electronic cigarettes are being marketed toward teens. E-cigarette manufacturers insist that they are not marketing to youth. The FDA has not approved this product, but according to the authors of the study it is critical to develop strategies to prevent sales and use to the youth.
-September 6, 2013
-Karen Kaplan and Monte Morin
- http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-e-cigarettes-20130906,0,2387959.story