One thing that enrages me about e-cigarettes is that the combination of fruity, candy flavors and television advertising means that kids who might not otherwise be exposed to nicotine or second-hand smoke are curious. In 2009, the FDA banned all flavors except menthol for traditional cigarettes, yet somehow e-cigarettes seem to be designed and marketed specifically to adolescents.
Source: tcavapor. com
E-cigarettes are viewed as less harmful than traditional cigarettes, which release toxins through combustion. But critics say enough isn’t known about e-cigarette health effects and that they serve as a new gateway to nicotine addiction —particularly for youth. The percentage of high-school students who had tried an e-cigarette climbed to 10% in 2012, up from 4.7% in 2011, according to a government study. “The most recent National Youth Tobacco Survey showed e-cigarette use is growing fast, and now this report shows e-cigarette related poisonings are also increasing rapidly,” said Tim McAfee, M.D., M.P.H., Director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. Studies show nicotine negatively affects neurological development among adolescents, including memory and impulse control.
Another thing you won’t see in the ads: liquid nicotine can be lethal.
It can cause harm when it’s inhaled, but it can also be harmful when ingested or absorbed through your skin. One study in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that liquid nicotine is one of the most lethal poisons. Only a small dose is dangerous — less than one tablespoon of many of the e-liquids on the market is enough to kill an adult, and as little as a teaspoon could kill a child.
Poisoning from conventional cigarettes is generally due to young children eating them. Poisoning related to e-cigarettes involves the liquid containing nicotine used in the devices and can occur in three ways: by ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through the skin or eyes.
According to the CDC, the number of calls to poison control centers regarding e-cigarette nicotine-infused liquids rose sharply, from only one per month in 2010 to 215 per month in February 2014. As many as 51.1 percent of those calls involved accidental poisoning of kids under the age of 5 (roughly 42 percent involved adults age 20 or older).
Dr. Deb Chimes In
As with any other potential dangerous substance, liquid nicotine should never be kept where children might access it. If you do use e-cigarettes, don’t use them around your children. Don’t refill the cigarette in front of your children. Don’t leave the cigarette where a child might find it. Never allow a child to play with an e-cigarette, even if the vessel is empty.
Parents of teens should use the advertising as a conversation-starter with their children and adolescents about the lethal dangers of liquid nicotine, about addiction to nicotine or cigarettes, and making healthy life choices.
Dr. Deb Chimes In 