There’s a lot of misinformation about e-cigarettes and vaping. Here are five facts about these products that shows the truth surrounding the dangers of flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes, particularly for teens.
Fact #1: A recent FDA policy created a loophole that continues to allow thousands of kid-friendly flavors on the market.
In an attempt to address the teen vaping crisis, the FDA policy had a huge loophole allowing the tobacco industry to continue to sell tobacco products in thousands of kid-friendly flavors. The policy allows flavored refillable vapes, like Suorin and Smok, and flavored disposable vapes like Puff Bar to continue to be sold.
Fact #2: E-cigarettes are more harmful than you think
E-cigarettes contain harmful chemicals, including some of the same toxic chemicals found in regular cigarettes, such as nicotine, formaldehyde, and lead. Aerosol from tobacco or marijuana vaping devices can damage lungs. Given our current pandemic, lung health is more important than ever since compromised lungs can lead to more severe symptoms of COVID-19.
Fact #3: High levels of nicotine make vaping highly addictive
Nicotine is a highly addictive neurotoxin. Nicotine levels vary among products and the newest vaping devices, popular with kids, contain high levels of nicotine. Some can even have as much nicotine as up to two packs of cigarettes. This is especially concerning as nicotine can produce lasting damage to the developing teen brain.
Fact #4: Flavors attract kids to vaping
When there are more than 15,500 kid-friendly options to choose from, including dulce de leche, horchata, and strawberry, it’s not surprising that almost 90% of all California high school students who vape are using flavors, and kids have reported vaping as early as 12 years old.
Fact #5: Vaping can also harm lung health. In the time of COVID, lung health is key.
Growing evidence suggests that the aerosol from vaping devices can harm lungs at the cellular andtheorgan itself,worseningthe body’s ability to fight respiratory infections11.The recent outbreak of lung injury associated with e-cigarette, or vaping, predominantly affecting young people, is still a major public health concern.
Read more about how to talk to kids about vaping, what you can do if your teen is addicted, and how to get schools on board.