If you’re entirely confused as to whether electronic cigarettes are a blessing or a curse for public health, you’re far from in the minority. For every study that claims such devices are contributing to a reduction in national smoking rates, there’s another study out there that suggests e-cigarettes do more harm than good.
Nevertheless, there’s growing evidence to suggest that contrary to the good intentions several reforms suggest, increasing the legal vaping age may actually cause more teenagers to take up smoking in lieu of the electronic alternative. Researchers from Cornell University have warned that restricting electronic cigarette use for younger teenagers may in fact have a counterproductive effect.
Published this week in Preventative Medicine, the study produced evidence to suggest that following the introduction of new e-cigarette age restrictions between 2007 and 2013, the states that increase the legal vaping age saw an average teenage smoking rate increase of 11.7%. A growing number of US states are pushing for stricter age restrictions on both tobacco use and vaping – many of which are targeting a minimum age of 21.
It is widely argued that open access to e-cigarettes and related accessories is making it far too easy for kids and younger teenagers to develop dangerous nicotine addiction, ultimately increasing their likelihood of making the switch to tobacco.
“We should regulate tobacco products proportionate to their risks, and e-cigarette evidence suggests they’re less risky products,” said the Cornell study’s lead author Dr. Michael F. Pesko.
“While there’s some risk, it would be a mistake to regulate them the same way we regulate cigarettes.”
Nevertheless, there’s growing evidence to suggest that contrary to the good intentions several reforms suggest, increasing the legal vaping age may actually cause more teenagers to take up smoking in lieu of the electronic alternative. Researchers from Cornell University have warned that restricting electronic cigarette use for younger teenagers may in fact have a counterproductive effect.
Published this week in Preventative Medicine, the study produced evidence to suggest that following the introduction of new e-cigarette age restrictions between 2007 and 2013, the states that increase the legal vaping age saw an average teenage smoking rate increase of 11.7%. A growing number of US states are pushing for stricter age restrictions on both tobacco use and vaping – many of which are targeting a minimum age of 21.
It is widely argued that open access to e-cigarettes and related accessories is making it far too easy for kids and younger teenagers to develop dangerous nicotine addiction, ultimately increasing their likelihood of making the switch to tobacco.
“We should regulate tobacco products proportionate to their risks, and e-cigarette evidence suggests they’re less risky products,” said the Cornell study’s lead author Dr. Michael F. Pesko.
“While there’s some risk, it would be a mistake to regulate them the same way we regulate cigarettes.”
The results of the study back those of prior research, which brought to light evidence to suggest that the banning of e-cigarette hardware to minors actually increased youth smoking rates.
“One practical implication is that recently both New York City and Hawaii changed their legal purchasing age for both cigarettes and e-cigarettes to 21,” said Pesko.
“Without commenting on the merits of raising the cigarette minimum purchasing age to 21, results from this study suggest it would have been better from a public health standpoint to increase the purchasing age to 21 only for cigarettes, and not e-cigarettes.”
According to the UK’s Action on Smoking Health organization, there are far too many people who still believe that e-cigarettes are just as dangerous, if not more harmful than regular cigarettes. While they agree that vaping couldn’t realistically be labeled as harmless, they nonetheless insist that false presumptions about the safety of e-cigarettes is providing counterproductive for public health.
“The number of ex-smokers who are staying off tobacco by using electronic cigarettes is growing, showing just what value they can have,” wrote chief executive of ASH, Deborah Arnott.
She went on to suggest that too many smokers who could potentially benefit from e-cigarette use are avoiding the devices having made inaccurate presumptions about their safety.
“The growth of this false perception risks discouraging many smokers from using electronic cigarettes to quit and keep them smoking instead which would be bad for their health and the health of those around them.”
However, while certain public health groups continue to throw their full weight and backing behind vaping, others cite evidence which suggests e-cigarettes are doing nothing but make matters worse.
The rapid increase in false perception poses a big threat to smokers. It has discouraged a considerable number of smokers who were planning to begin e-cigarette. Therefore, they keep on smoking conventional cigarette which is more hazardous.
Flying in the face of the single most important argument from those advocating the devices, prior research suggests that electronic cigarettes may in fact may it more difficult for smokers to kick the habit. Designed and market primarily as smoking cessation tools designed to help gradually steer smokers away from dangerous nicotine addictions, critics have long argued that e-cigarettes represent more of a curse than a benefit for public health in general.
Delivering a dose of nicotine that can be taken pretty much anywhere at any times appears to be having a counterproductive effect on the efforts of those trying to quit smoking for good.
Published in The American Journal of Public Health, a recent study into the highly-debated topic suggests that when and where a smoker has ‘ever’ used and electronic cigarette they are considerably less likely to kick the habit for a full month than those that have never tried ‘vaping’. In addition, the data produced also suggested that a smoker’s long-term changes of cutting down on tobacco use may decrease in accordance with whether or not they have used e-cigarettes at any time.
The researchers accounted for various other factors including how long the individual had been smoking, their daily smoking habits and the strength of their intention to quit – the same result perpetuated throughout.
“Based on the idea that smokers use e-cigarettes to quit smoking, we hypothesized that smokers who used these products would be more successful in quitting,” wrote Dr. Wael Al-Delaimy, chief of the division of global public health at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
“But the research revealed the contrary.”
“One hypothesis is that smokers are receiving an increase in nicotine dose by using e-cigarettes.”
The news comes shortly after separate reports slammed e-cigarette manufacturers for using toxic flavoring chemicals in their products which escape FDA regulation by way of a loophole with regard to method of ingestion.’
Critics have argued for some time that with no long-term research to go on, it’s impossible and thus irresponsible to call electronic cigarettes anything close to safe. And as time moves forward, evidence suggests that these often helpful smoking cessation tools may indeed pose a series of unique health risks that deserve to be better-communicated to the public.
In the latest instance, new research suggests that the flavorings used to make e-cigarette refills more palatable may in fact be loaded with chemicals, which when ingested through inhalation could prove highly harmful. Published in the journal Tobacco Control, the study incorporated six popular flavoring brands on general sale in the United States and found that each presented the same potential health risks associated with long-term exposure to flavoring chemicals.
“Obviously people haven’t been using these cigarettes for 25 years, so there’s no data to know what the consequences are from long-term exposures,” wrote James Pankow, a chemist at Portland State University in Oregon and the study’s lead author.
“If you can’t look at longitudinal data, you just have to look at what’s in there and whether there things to be worried about.”
E-cigarette brands have already been slammed with accusations of deliberately making their products as appealing as possible to younger smokers and minors, with common flavors including bubblegum, cherry coke, chocolate, cupcake and even bacon. After studying a total of 30 different fluids from leading brands, the research team found that up to 4% of the liquid comprised potentially harmful flavoring chemicals.
“The concentrations of some flavor chemicals in e-cigarette fluids are sufficiently high for inhalation exposure by vaping to be of toxicological concern,” the researchers stated.
“For someone vaping, they could be getting a chronic exposure at twice the workplace limits.”
One of the key problems as highlighted by comments from the Flavor Extracts Manufacturers Association is the way in which FDA guidelines for the safe use of flavoring chemicals apply to their general ingested, not their effects when inhaled in vapor form as is the case with smoking cessation devices.
“Route of exposure is really important,” the report continued.
“Your stomach is pretty good at tolerating a lot of terrible stuff.”
In an interview with Forbes, co-author David Peyton stated outright that to assume electronic cigarettes are in any way safe is for the time being ill-advised.
I think it’s a mistake to presume safety,” he said.
“Yes, it’s less dangerous than some other things, but to assume safe is also probably not the correct thing.”
“To put it simply, If I were vaping, I’d want to know the ingredients,”
“And make no mistake, these ingredients have not been certified as safe for inhalation, so arguments related to cooking and eating are not relevant.”
“One practical implication is that recently both New York City and Hawaii changed their legal purchasing age for both cigarettes and e-cigarettes to 21,” said Pesko.
“Without commenting on the merits of raising the cigarette minimum purchasing age to 21, results from this study suggest it would have been better from a public health standpoint to increase the purchasing age to 21 only for cigarettes, and not e-cigarettes.”
According to the UK’s Action on Smoking Health organization, there are far too many people who still believe that e-cigarettes are just as dangerous, if not more harmful than regular cigarettes. While they agree that vaping couldn’t realistically be labeled as harmless, they nonetheless insist that false presumptions about the safety of e-cigarettes is providing counterproductive for public health.
“The number of ex-smokers who are staying off tobacco by using electronic cigarettes is growing, showing just what value they can have,” wrote chief executive of ASH, Deborah Arnott.
She went on to suggest that too many smokers who could potentially benefit from e-cigarette use are avoiding the devices having made inaccurate presumptions about their safety.
“The growth of this false perception risks discouraging many smokers from using electronic cigarettes to quit and keep them smoking instead which would be bad for their health and the health of those around them.”
However, while certain public health groups continue to throw their full weight and backing behind vaping, others cite evidence which suggests e-cigarettes are doing nothing but make matters worse.
The rapid increase in false perception poses a big threat to smokers. It has discouraged a considerable number of smokers who were planning to begin e-cigarette. Therefore, they keep on smoking conventional cigarette which is more hazardous.
Flying in the face of the single most important argument from those advocating the devices, prior research suggests that electronic cigarettes may in fact may it more difficult for smokers to kick the habit. Designed and market primarily as smoking cessation tools designed to help gradually steer smokers away from dangerous nicotine addictions, critics have long argued that e-cigarettes represent more of a curse than a benefit for public health in general.
Delivering a dose of nicotine that can be taken pretty much anywhere at any times appears to be having a counterproductive effect on the efforts of those trying to quit smoking for good.
Published in The American Journal of Public Health, a recent study into the highly-debated topic suggests that when and where a smoker has ‘ever’ used and electronic cigarette they are considerably less likely to kick the habit for a full month than those that have never tried ‘vaping’. In addition, the data produced also suggested that a smoker’s long-term changes of cutting down on tobacco use may decrease in accordance with whether or not they have used e-cigarettes at any time.
The researchers accounted for various other factors including how long the individual had been smoking, their daily smoking habits and the strength of their intention to quit – the same result perpetuated throughout.
“Based on the idea that smokers use e-cigarettes to quit smoking, we hypothesized that smokers who used these products would be more successful in quitting,” wrote Dr. Wael Al-Delaimy, chief of the division of global public health at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
“But the research revealed the contrary.”
“One hypothesis is that smokers are receiving an increase in nicotine dose by using e-cigarettes.”
The news comes shortly after separate reports slammed e-cigarette manufacturers for using toxic flavoring chemicals in their products which escape FDA regulation by way of a loophole with regard to method of ingestion.’
Critics have argued for some time that with no long-term research to go on, it’s impossible and thus irresponsible to call electronic cigarettes anything close to safe. And as time moves forward, evidence suggests that these often helpful smoking cessation tools may indeed pose a series of unique health risks that deserve to be better-communicated to the public.
In the latest instance, new research suggests that the flavorings used to make e-cigarette refills more palatable may in fact be loaded with chemicals, which when ingested through inhalation could prove highly harmful. Published in the journal Tobacco Control, the study incorporated six popular flavoring brands on general sale in the United States and found that each presented the same potential health risks associated with long-term exposure to flavoring chemicals.
“Obviously people haven’t been using these cigarettes for 25 years, so there’s no data to know what the consequences are from long-term exposures,” wrote James Pankow, a chemist at Portland State University in Oregon and the study’s lead author.
“If you can’t look at longitudinal data, you just have to look at what’s in there and whether there things to be worried about.”
E-cigarette brands have already been slammed with accusations of deliberately making their products as appealing as possible to younger smokers and minors, with common flavors including bubblegum, cherry coke, chocolate, cupcake and even bacon. After studying a total of 30 different fluids from leading brands, the research team found that up to 4% of the liquid comprised potentially harmful flavoring chemicals.
“The concentrations of some flavor chemicals in e-cigarette fluids are sufficiently high for inhalation exposure by vaping to be of toxicological concern,” the researchers stated.
“For someone vaping, they could be getting a chronic exposure at twice the workplace limits.”
One of the key problems as highlighted by comments from the Flavor Extracts Manufacturers Association is the way in which FDA guidelines for the safe use of flavoring chemicals apply to their general ingested, not their effects when inhaled in vapor form as is the case with smoking cessation devices.
“Route of exposure is really important,” the report continued.
“Your stomach is pretty good at tolerating a lot of terrible stuff.”
In an interview with Forbes, co-author David Peyton stated outright that to assume electronic cigarettes are in any way safe is for the time being ill-advised.
I think it’s a mistake to presume safety,” he said.
“Yes, it’s less dangerous than some other things, but to assume safe is also probably not the correct thing.”
“To put it simply, If I were vaping, I’d want to know the ingredients,”
“And make no mistake, these ingredients have not been certified as safe for inhalation, so arguments related to cooking and eating are not relevant.”
Resource : http://www.modernreaders.com/study-raising-the-smoking-age-is-actually-counterproductive/41870/ed-jones
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