Health Communication Campaign

Vaping – A public health epidemic in the United States

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with local public health and health care providers to investigate reports of severe lung injury which could be potentially related to vaping and e-cigarette use among adolescents and adults. This Investigation is still underway and health officials warn the public to consider refraining from using e-cigarette products at least until there is more information on their risk.

Who is at risk of developing vaping lung related injuries?

Aside from the ongoing investigation, vaping products should not be used by youth, young adults, pregnant women or adults who currently don’t use tobacco products. Additionally, people vaping nicotine to help quit smoking should consider alternative options to quit and those who are experiencing signs of respiratory illness should seek medical care.

Symptoms

Symptoms included shortness of breath, fever, cough, vomiting and diarrhea. Some patients also reported headache, dizziness and chest pain. People experiencing lung symptoms after vaping should seek clinical care and avoid e-cigarettes or other vaping products, as continued use may lead to worsening symptoms.

How to talk to your kids

Under no circumstances should parents buy e-cigarettes for their children assuming that this might prevent them from smoking regular cigarettes. Krishnan-Sarin, PhD, co-leader of the Yale Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science, one of nine centers in the country currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the FDA to foster tobacco regulatory research, encourages parents to talk openly and freely about vaping and to provide accurate information. “I think the problem is that parents lose credibility if they say something to try and convince their child, who then finds out that it isn’t true,” she says.

"Parents should base their information on accurate facts and also encourage their children to read about and understand the science on this issue instead of relying on what their friends and peers tell them."

Sources:

https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/lunginjuries/index.html

https://www.yalemedicine.org/stories/teen-vaping/