Take Charge of Your Health - eCigarettes Are Still Cigarettes

...many e-cigarette users get even more nicotine
than they would from a combustible tobacco product.
Users can buy extra-strength cartridges, which have a higher concentration of nicotine,
or increase the e-cigarette’s voltage to get a greater hit...
-Dr. Michael Blaha, Johns Hopkins University

For years we have all known about the dangerous effects of smoking: increased blood pressure, risk of stroke, diabetes, and lung disease. In his final days, the once-striking 51-year-old Marlboro man actor from the 1970s commercials was reduced to living "in an incubator" and said of his 25-year smoking history, "it's just not worth it." Many have agreed and smoking rates have decreased from 20.9% in 2005 to 12.5% in 2020. While that is good news, there are still 30.8 million adults smoking in the U.S.!

Nearly 7 out of 10 current smokers say they want to quit, and many take up e-cigarettes as a "smoking"  alternative or to help ease their transition. However, like traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes also contain nicotine, which is the highly addictive product extracted from tobacco. Smoking provides nicotine to the smoker by burning tobacco, while vaping delivers nicotine by heating a liquid that is then inhaled. In e-cigarettes the nicotine is mixed with other chemicals and flavorings to create an aerosol that is then inhaled. Consequently, e-cigarettes have many of the same issues found in cigarettes. Not only does nicotine raise your blood pressure and increase adrenaline levels, but as Dr. Blaha tells us, e-cigarettes can also be sold with extra strength nicotine cartridges that further increase nicotine's negative impact as well as its addictiveness. 

Statistics now show that 1 in 20 Americans vape. Of particular concern is the appeal and use of e-cigarettes by our youth. The 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that over 3 million U.S. students including 4.5% of middle school students and 16.5% of high school students are using these products. 

In response to the alarming rate of vaping in our school-age children, both California and Massachusetts have passed laws banning flavored vaping products (as well as menthol cigarettes). The issue became so charged between the tobacco industry and those that oppose it that the legal challenge made it all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the swell of momentous decisions released in June of 2022, the Court upheld the states' right to decide. It is not without import that revenue from e-cigarettes is expected to be $24.61 billion in 2023. 

According to the CDC a staggering $240 billion is spent each year to treat smoking-related diseases. And since both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes contain nicotine, which research suggests may be as addictive as heroin and cocaine, it is important to be aware of the risks associated with e-cigarettes for adults and our children as well. Unfortunately there is no panacea to nicotine addiction and the best treatment may be working to educate ourselves and our children about the unintended consequences of vaping.