E-Cigarettes: Incomplete Restrictions, Mixed Blessings, Still Many Unknowns
By Michael Fergenson, senior editorial coordinator
E-liquids and and e-cigarette, via Wikimedia Commons
As e-cigarette use continues to increase among youth, cigarette use gradually decreases. Meanwhile, many questions remain about the safety of e-cigarettes.
According to a recently released CDC report, “Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students—United States, 2013,” current cigarette use among middle and high school students (that is, having smoked a cigarette at least once in the past month) dropped from 2012 to 2013 (from 3.5% to 2.9% for middle school students; from 14% to 12.7% for high school students).
In contrast, current e-cigarette use, still far less common than use of cigarettes, is on the rise, at least among high school students. The percentage of high school students who reported using e-cigarettes jumped from 2.8% in 2012 to 4.5% in 2013.
Still, it would seem that some students are replacing traditional cigarettes with e-cigarettes, and it’s no surprise that they are doing so.
- E-cigarettes are easier to get. The FDA has recommended a national ban on selling e-cigarettes to minors, but such a federal ban has yet to be enacted. (In the meantime, as many as 41 states have enacted varying restrictions of their own.)
- E-cigarettes come in various flavors, including candy flavors thought to be geared towards youth (such as marshmallow, butterscotch, peanut butter cup, peppermint bark).
- E-cigarettes can […]