E-cigarette Background Information
E-cigarette Background Information
Embedded Files
What is an E-cigarette?
What is an E-cigarette?
E-cigarettes are a type of electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) and their appearance can vary from resembling a conventional cigarette to a USB flash drive. They use a nicotine liquid often called e-liquid or e-juice, which is often sweet or candy flavored, to deliver nicotine to the body. While they were developed as a means to help smokers quit, they have rapidly become the new means of nicotine addiction, especially among young people. The following video explains e-cigarettes in detail.
How harmful are e-cigarettes?
How harmful are e-cigarettes?
E-cigarettes are a source of extremely high doses of ultrafine particles in the human respiratory system. These particles have been linked to cardiovascular disease.
Nicotine is much more addictive to the immature teen brain compared to the developed adult brain.
Even a little nicotine can lead to ADHD-like symptoms and compulsive behavior, which can contribute to classroom behavior problems.
There is some evidence that nicotine primes the brain for other drug addictions.
Nicotine is extremely harmful to the developing fetus. There is no known safe level of nicotine exposure in utero.
Drinking nicotine in E-juice is harmful and possibly fatal for babies and toddlers.
Nicotine overdose symptoms include rapid heart rate, nausea, elevated blood pressure, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, convulsion, and potentially seizure and death.
The process of heating the nicotine solution produces aldehyde, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, and acrolein, which are known carcinogens.
The glycerin/propylene glycol and 8,000+ flavoring chemicals in e-cigarettes have only been approved for ingestion (eating). It is not recommended by the manufacturers that these chemicals be inhaled, as they have not been widely tested for their potential sensitizing, toxic, or irritating characteristics.
Many E-liquids are custom-mixed by individuals at home, increasing the potential for additional health risks to E-cigarette users. Even commercial E-liquids are produced with unknown manufacturing procedures, packaging materials, and purity standards.
How common is E-cigarette use?
How common is E-cigarette use?
As of 2018, 20.8% of high school students and 4.9% of middle school students across the U.S. have used E-cigarettes in the past 30 days. In some states as many as 40% of middle school kids have tried an E-cigarette at least once (over 50% in high school). This data points to the fact that large numbers of American children will become addicted to nicotine and are at risk for becoming a regular tobacco user.
CDC: Tobacco Product Use Among High School Students - 2018
What does an E-cigarette look like?
What does an E-cigarette look like?
E-cigarettes can take on many different shapes and forms and they can vary in name. Today, E-cigarettes include brands such as JUUL, Blu,Vapor Fi, PHIX,Suorin Air, My Jet, and PULSE. Below you can see examples of (1) disposable e-cigarettes, (2) reusable "tanks" or "mods" (3) Suorin drops, (4) and JUULs. Although there are a lot of e-cigarette options available, JUUL is currently the most popular e-cigarette in the United States with roughly 75% of the market share.
Page updated
Report abuse