The newest fad related to tobacco smoking is vaping. According to Liz Neporent of ABC News, “The electronic cigarette was invented in the 1960s, but it didn 't really take off until a decade ago.” Electronic cigarettes are seen everywhere in the public. “Thanks for Vaping,” posted by Sky Dylan-Robbins of The New Yorker, talks about all the questions that come with this new mysterious fad. The electronic cigarette will become the next tobacco problem, many people do not know what electronic cigarettes are, they are not FDA approved, children have easy access to electronic cigarettes, unknown potential health risk. Most people wouldn’t know what vaping is if asked. But this growing fad is getting even larger. I myself didn’t know what vaping was until I watched the video “Thanks for Vaping”. According to Nick at grimmgreen,
“Vaping utilizes a Propylene Glycol or Vegetable Glycerin based liquid, mixed with small amounts of nicotine and food grade flavoring that then get vaporized in a small battery powered atomizer, simulating the experience of smoking. The vapor created is inhaled and exhaled much like cigarette smoke hence the term ‘VAPING’ as opposed to ‘SMOKING’”. This needs to become a block
Vaping has been around for 40 years, but it didn’t take off until the father of the inventor (Hon Lik) passed away from smoking- induced lung cancer. He encourages people to start vaping when they are trying to stop smoking cigarettes or are looking for an alternate way to smoke. The vapors in the e-cigarettes have smaller amounts of nicotine that help smokers cut down slowly on cigarettes. The vapor flavors come in many flavors, the user doesn’t even have to get nicotine in the liquid. Some people start e-smoking for the flavor and social gatherings. The down fall for the users of e-cigarettes is that the user may n not allowed to smoke e-cigarettes inside and must follow the rules of tobacco smokers. According to No-smoke.org the use of E-cigarettes in the state of Colorado is prohibited same as any tobacco product, unless it is approved by the FDA. People who have started to use e-cigarettes are getting upset over the fact that they are facing the same requirements as tobacco smokers. It is believed that states are grouping them together because no one has done studies on the effects on e-cigarettes, not even the FDA. The FDA has yet to step in and regulate the cigarettes, so they Tabaco companies such as Altria, Reynolds American, and Lorillard are buying in. History is repeating itself as it did in the 20th century. The use of cigarettes as the primary way of consuming tobacco did not become popular until the early 1900s. Tabaco smoking peaked in 1965 in the United States, when about 50 percent of men and 33 percent of women smoked because it was the popular thing to do. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that the health risks were public knowledge. By that time many people had become addicted to nicotine the inside of the cigarettes and were not concerned about the health risk; just as a drug addicted would do. The FDA has not fully studied e-cigarettes yet, consumers do not know the potential risk, how much nicotine is in them or the potentially harmful chemicals when inhaled, and if there are any benefits with use of the product. According to The New Yorker magazine, in 2013, e-cigarettes sales reached $1.7 billion. Even tobacco companies are starting to buy vaping companies to keep up with the ever-growing fans of vaping, yet the FDA still has not regulated. Liquid nicotine is not regulated either. Without the FDA to regulate e-cigarettes, the business will boom even more. Hooking onto our nations like parasite. Vapor pens have become more teen friendly. For instance, teens can buy a pen that matches their outfits and taste like strawberries Even our child as young as middle school have started to experiment with e-cigarettes. The cool pink pens have are appealing to the eyes of the younger grouping. Making this into a fashionable statement instead of a way to stop smoking. We are not changing the world with the vapor cigarettes but just changing the shape and look of the problem. According to Stephanie Chuang of NBC Bay area “A recent CDC poll revealed that the number of middle and high school students surveyed who admitted to trying vapes doubled in just one year, to nearly two million in 2012.” Many e-cigarettes are being marketed as an alternative way to smoking, but with everything unknown about the risk there is no way of telling how much better it will be. The fruity flavors are also appealing to young groups, such as cotton candy or blueberries and cream. Viviana an 8th grader tells Jenny Lei Bolario from Npr.org "My favorite flavor is gummy bears because it tastes really good.” Vapor pens do not have a disant smell to them like Tabaco, one could smell like candy and a teacher would just think a child brought candy in their back pack. Children can buy these flavors offline, there isn’t even a 18 years or older button. Another way that the companies are reaching out to a younger crowd is by having lower prices than Tabaco companies. According to Natalie Robehmed of Forbes “for the first time in 43 years, cigarette ads will return to TV as second-largest tobacco U.S. manufacturer Reynolds American RAI -0.03% Inc. plans a national rollout of its Vuse e-cigarette.” With every new product people want to make sure it’s safe. With vaping (or as some people call it, e-cigs), there have not been many studies done conducted studying health risks. According to Dr. Amy Fairchild, a professor of Sociomedical Sciences Department at Columbia University, “E-cigs are better off than tobacco cigs.” They were created as a way to stop smoking, but this may be a way to attract new smokers using a different product that may be just as dangerous to their health. Vaping customs still have to follow the rules set by each state. I believe this is a good idea since there have not been many studies to find out the health risks. Since I don’t smoke or vape, I should not be subjected to it, nor should anyone else who does not choose to smoke. A person might be able to smoke vapors with little to no nicotine and quite smoking tobacco altogether, but it seems to me that now it is becoming more and more trend-setting to vape without knowing what damage they may be doing to themselves and others around them. Even though people know that tobacco smoking is bad for them and they could eventually die from it, they still smoke. If vaping was found to do the same, would people change their mind or cover their eyes? Whether or not people vape, it may still affect others just like second and third hand smoke. Advertising for e-cigs are becoming popular. After reading this article, I want to know more about e-cigarettes and how they may affect my life and health. I would not go so blind into something new like vaping without knowing what effects there might be for myself and my family. Hopefully soon the FDA will regulate vaping just as it does Tabaco. In the meantime, “no thanks for Vaping.”
Work Cited
American Nonsmoker’s Rights Foundation. “U.S. State and Local Laws Regulating Use of Electronic Cigarettes.” U. S State and Local Laws. (n.d).n pag. American Nonsmokers Rights Foundation. 3 July 2014. Web. 16 sept. 2014
Bolario, Jenny Lei. "Candy Flavors Put E-Cigarettes On Kids ' Menu." NPR. NPR, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
Chuang, Stephanie. “Growing Use of Vaporizers Alarm Health Officials.” NBC Bay Area. NBC, 26 Jan. 2014
Dylan-Robbins, Sky. “Video: Thanks for Vaping The NewYorker” The New Yorker. 9 Apr 2014. Web 15, Sept 2014. FDA.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration”, Electronic Cigarettes (e-Cqarettes). Public Health Focus, 11 Aug. 2014.Web 16 Sept 2014
Neportent, Liz. “5 Things You Need to Know About E-cigs” ABC News. ABC News Network, 24, Spet 2013.
Nick. “What is Vaping” GrimmGreen.com. Grnm n.d. Web 15 Sept 2014.
Robehmed, Natalie. "E-cigarette Sales Surpass $1 Billion As Big Tobacco Moves In." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.
Cited: July 2014. Web. 16 sept. 2014 Bolario, Jenny Lei Chuang, Stephanie. “Growing Use of Vaporizers Alarm Health Officials.” NBC Bay Area. NBC, 26 Jan. 2014 Dylan-Robbins, Sky Public Health Focus, 11 Aug. 2014.Web 16 Sept 2014 Neportent, Liz Magazine, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.