E-cigarette use has jumped 75 percent among youth

The last thing the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) wants to see is an increased use of e-cigarettes or vaping among children and adolescents.  Yet, despite efforts to discourage it’s use, last year, 20 percent of high school students and five percent of middle school students, were found to have used e-cigarettes which is a 75 percent increase overall since 2017.

This significant jump in e-cigarette use has prompted the AAP to seek help for new federal regulations which would include the following:

·      Setting a minimum age of 21 to buy the products

·      Banning online sales and youth-targeted marketing

·      Stopping production of certain flavored E-cigarette products

What are e-cigarettes?

E-cigarettes are devices that heat a liquid into an aerosol that the user inhales. The liquid usually has nicotine and flavoring in it and other additives. It is often these various flavorings that initially attract youth to want to experiment using e-cigarettes.

Concerns over e-cigarettes

The AAP is not the only organization concerned about e-cigarette use and its health effects on young people. Even though studies have shown them to be less harmful than smoking cigarettes, other studies point out serious harm nonetheless. Nicotine is still a prime ingredient in these devices and it is known that nicotine is more addictive than heroin and cocaine. There is also growing evidence that nicotine can harm the developing adolescent brain.   Some health professions state that the amount of nicotine kids are getting from e-cigarettes may be more than they would from traditional cigarettes.

Many health professionals are calling the use of e-cigarettes among young people an epidemic affecting up to 3.6 million youth. The concern is that e-cigarettes are seen as a gateway to traditional cigarette use.

Besides being addictive, other concerns of nicotine use among youth is cardiovascular health and damages to the brain.  The human brain is not fully developed until age 25. Children and adolescents who use e-cigarettes have the potential to change the ability to learn, reduce memory and impulse control. In addition to the concerns of nicotine, vaping produces ultrafine particles that can be irritants or affect the lungs. The flavorants used such as diacetyl, is a chemical linked to serious lung disease and the e-cigarettes can contain volatile organic compounds along with heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead.

Other concerns have been aggressive marketing of e-cigarettes on television aiming towards kids.  This marketing of these devices is also found on social media and at sporting events. This same type of marketing is not allowed for traditional cigarettes. 

What can parents do to discourage the use of e-cigarettes?

Parents are the gatekeepers to their children’s behavior. It begins in the home and there are several steps parents can do to intervene in the use of e-cigarettes:

·      Talk to their children about the dangers of e-cigarettes

·      Avoid criticism and encourage an open dialogue

·      The goal is to have a conversation, not a lecture

·      Set a positive example of being tobacco free

Parents, schools, health organizations, and other government entities, can all do their part in fighting e-cigarette use among our youth.