Vim & Vigor - Winter 2019 - UVA - 39

YOUTHS AT RISK

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Vaping poses the most concern for one of its fastest-growing user groups: young people.
The Food and Drug Administration says that vaping among middle and high school
students "increased alarmingly" from 2017 to 2018, with a 48 percent climb among the
former group and a 78 percent jump among the latter.
Most vaping products contain nicotine, a substance that's harmful to brain development, which continues until about age 25. Nicotine can have negative effects on young
people's attention, learning, mood and impulse control.
Experts acknowledge that vaping is safer than conventional smoking, but "saying something is safer than a cigarette is not really resounding praise for it," says Linda Richter,
director of policy research and analysis for the Center on Addiction.
Richter says it's also problematic that e-cigs come in thousands of flavors, from
mango and cherry to cream cookie and caramel, because flavored products attract
kids. The flavors also make it easier for kids to vape, because they mask the harsh taste
of nicotine, Richter says.

not attempt to quit smoking cigarettes and will not
use FDA-approved cessation
medications. These individuals should be encouraged
to switch to the least harmful form of tobacco product
possible; switching to the
exclusive use of e-cigarettes
is preferable to continuing
to smoke combustible products," the American Cancer
Society notes in its position
statement on e-cigs. "Of
course, these individuals
should be regularly advised
to completely quit using all
tobacco products."
Smoking even a few conventional cigarettes a day
has a well-documented
relationship to significant increases in the risk

of cancer and heart disease. The long-term health
effects of vaping are
not known.
Douglas says it's important to note that the cessation discussion only applies
to adults, not to youths,
who are particularly vulnerable to nicotine in any form.

TRUE OR FALSE:

Chemicals used to
flavor e-cigarettes
can be harmful.
TRUE. Some chemicals
found in e-cigs can pose
problems, Douglas says. For
example, some e-cig flavoring contains the chemical
diacetyl, which is linked to a
serious lung disease commonly called popcorn lung.

Talk to Your Teen
About Vaping
For information about how to
talk to teens about vaping, visit
the Surgeon General's site e-cig
arettes.surgeongeneral.gov
and click "resources." Look for
"Parent Tip Sheet."

That disease (bronchiolitis
obliterans) damages small
airways in the lungs, causing
coughing and shortness
of breath.
E-cigs also can contain
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are
linked to adverse health
effects ranging from eye,
nose and throat irritation
to liver and kidney damage. The FDA has warned
that some people who
vape-particularly young
people-experienced seizures afterward.
One of the biggest concerns about vaping is that
it's not yet well-studied.
Experts do not have a thorough understanding of
what chemicals make up the

vapor and what effect they
might have on health.

TRUE OR FALSE:

Vaping is not associated with other
tobacco product use.
FALSE. When it comes
to adults, the connection
between vaping and other
tobacco use involves a high
rate of dual usage-smoking
conventional cigarettes and
also vaping.
Among young people,

those who vape are more
likely to progress to smoking conventional cigarettes,
Douglas says.
"That raises a significant
concern, because vaping is
harmful, but cigarette smoking is exponentially worse." ■

WIN TE R 2019

https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2019 - UVA

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