Electronic Cigarettes: Good or Bad?
I, under no circumstance, support the usage of electronic cigarettes. My argument and standpoint is justified by a few excerpts from a recent research paper I've constructed for school.
A little background information:
Supporters of the electronic cigarette believe that the e-cigarette is much healthier than a regular, tobacco cigarette. A primary argument that e-cigarette supporters use is as follows: Two laboratory studies have shown that the electronic cigarette contains only nine of the eleven thousand toxic chemicals that the conventional cigarette holds. This experiment is extremely biased because the experiment consisted of only two, out of the approximately two-hundred and fifty, different brands. (DeNoon) Conclusions can simply not be drawn judging from only a small percentage of the brands across the world. Yet, we can create assumptions based off of multiple recent studies. In a test of multiple electronic cigarette brands, researchers found that each electronic cigarette contains numerous carcinogens and diethylene glycol (9 Terribly Disturbing Things About Electronic Cigarettes). Diethylene glycol is a chemical compound that is mainly found in modern-day antifreeze. This chemical has been known to cause mass poisonings that span all the way back to 1937 (Diethylene glycol poisoning).
Electronic cigarettes cause a difficulty in breathing.
Along with containing dangerous chemicals, more studies have proven that electronic cigarettes cause a difficulty of breathing. A recent study, held at the University of Athens, Greece, tested thirty-two volunteers for symptoms of breathing irregularities. Eight of the volunteers were lifetime nonsmokers while the other twenty-four were regular, day-to-day smokers. Each volunteer was told to inhale the vapor of an electronic cigarette for a period of ten minutes. Immediately, the resistance and contraction of each volunteer’s airways more than doubled. (Nordqvist) Another study, held in December of 2011, showed similar symptoms. Forty volunteers were told to smoke an electronic cigarette for only a span of five minutes. When the fives minutes elapsed, each volunteer (except the volunteer’s in the control group) showed an increase in airway resistance and a stress of the lungs. (Leader) If electronic cigarettes were as healthy and risk-free as depicted, the American Lung Association and Dr. Mike Feinstein would not have issued warnings about the devices. “People are inhaling some type of chemical, vaporized compound into their lungs without really knowing what’s in it,” stated Dr. Mike Feinstein. (Hurtado)
Indistinguishable characteristics lead to assumed social acceptance among teens.
Public places that bans are being placed on include: train stations, restaurants, bars, and private office buildings. The owners of large, British franchises have also placed bans of their own. Chez Bruce (food franchise), JD Wetherspoon (food franchise), and First Capital Connect (train and subway company) all have banned the use of the electronic cigarette because many of the models are indistinguishable from normal cigarettes. (Jourdan) Due to its indistinguishable characteristics, it has been concluded that children or young adults may view a person using an electronic cigarette and conclude that it is socially acceptable.
The lack of tobacco allows for the device to be subject from current tobacco laws.
The use of nicotine, the highly addictive stimulant and primary compound in the electronic cigarette, has been extremely controversial. Seeing as how the electronic cigarette contains only nicotine (and other chemicals) and not tobacco, the device is not subject to laws that have been placed on tobacco cigarettes. An age restriction has yet to be placed and many public places still allow the use of them. Therefore, minors have been able to purchase (and still can) electronic cigarettes from many vendors, supermarkets, and convenience stores across the nation. (Jourdan) In the figure below, the National Youth Tobacco Survey performed by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) gathered data from current middle and high school students.
The data shows that in just a single year, the usage of e-cigarettes by the average, teenage student has nearly doubled. (Fig. 2) The use of nicotine by teenagers and young adults can cause an addiction to the drug later in life. A future addiction to nicotine may eventually lure the victim towards trying other products that contain nicotine such as tobacco cigarettes. (“FDA Warns of Health Risks Posed by E-Cigarettes”)
There are less expensive and more effective ways to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes.
People tend to use the excuse that the use of an electronic cigarette will help them decrease the smoking of tobacco cigarettes or even aid them in quitting their disgusting habit completely. Yet, in a recent laboratory study, past smokers that currently use electronic cigarettes have increased their “vaping” habits (Broadwell). Basically, the electronic cigarette provides thousands of more “puffs” than the conventional cigarette. Therefore, users are not set to a limit and can “vape” for a prolonged period of time. If people insist on quitting their habit of smoking, nicotine patches are virtually as effective and cost much less over a period of time.
What are your views on the use of this "revolutionary" product?
Sources:
"9 Terribly Disturbing Things About Electronic Cigarettes." huffingtonpost.com. N.p., 3 Sept. 2013.
Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Broadwell, Laura. "Pros and Cons of E-Cigarettes." medshadow.org. N.p., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
"Diethylene glycol poisoning." ncbi.gov. NCBI, July 2009. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
DeNoon, Daniel J. "E-Cigarettes Under Fire." webmd.com. Ed. Louise Chang. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
"FDA Warns of Health Risks Posed by E-Cigarettes." fda.gov. N.p., 23 July 2009. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Hurtado, Linda. "Doctors caution use of e-cigarettes, saying vaping is worse than smoking the real thing." theindychannel.com. WPTV, 1 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Jourdan, Thea. "Yes, it' better than smoking, but that doesn't make your e-cigarettes healthy." dailymail.co.uk. N.p., 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Leader, Deborah. "The Pros and Cons of E-Cigarettes." copd.about.com. N.p., 20 July 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Nordqvist, Christian. "Electronic Cigarettes Can Harm The Lungs." medicalnewstoday.com. N.p., 3 Sept. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
