E-Cigarettes: Incomplete Restrictions, Mixed Blessings, Still Many Unknowns

By Michael Fergenson, senior editorial coordinator

E-liquids and 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.

2016-11-21T13:03:30-05:00November 21st, 2014|Nursing|0 Comments
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An Update on e-Cigarettes and Health

By Michael Fergenson, AJN senior editorial coordinator

Photo by Michael Dorausch, via Flickr Photo by Michael Dorausch, via Flickr

Last May, I wrote a post titled “E-Cigarettes: Positive Smoking Substitute or a New Problem Replacing the Old?” It explored the pros and cons of using e-cigarettes, then a relatively new and little-studied product, to aid in smoking cessation. The FDA has warned that little is known about how effective they are as smoking cessation aids and also warned that there is no way for consumers to know exactly how much nicotine and other potentially harmful chemicals are being inhaled during use. Concerns have also been raised that e-cigarettes could lead to children smoking real cigarettes. So, what have we learned since then?

One study says e-cigarettes are as effective as the patch

One study published in The Lancet, September 2013, recruited 584 smokers in Auckland, New Zealand, who wanted to quit. Half were given e-cigarettes and half got coupons for nicotine patches, and another 73 were given e-cigarettes without nicotine. The study found that smokers using the e-cigarette to help them quit were only slightly more successful than those using a nicotine patch: 7.3% of those […]

2017-01-04T14:39:34-05:00October 18th, 2013|Nursing|3 Comments
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E-Cigarettes: Positive Smoking Substitute or a New Problem Replacing the Old?

Photo by Michael Dorausch, via Flickr

By Michael Fergenson, senior editorial coordinator

The dangers of smoking cigarettes are well documented, from the terrifying commercials about what smoking does to our bodies to the warnings right on the pack. Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 45.3 million people in the United States smoke.

Now, a new trend in tobacco products has become the center of much debate. I’m referring to the electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, that are gaining popularity as a smoking alternative and, for many, as a tool to quit.

I personally know two people who are using this device in an attempt to stop smoking. An article published in the New York Times last November reports that the number of Americans trying e-cigarettes “quadrupled from 2009 to 2010.” The article also cites the results of a survey published in Tobacco Control last year, which found that 1.2% of adults, or close to 3 million people, had reported using these products in the previous month. But are e-cigarettes really a positive smoking substitute and aid to quitting?

How they work. Most e-cigarettes are shaped like a real cigarette, but some have a unique look. They work by heating up a liquid—purchased […]

2017-03-10T16:53:37-05:00May 4th, 2012|Nursing|21 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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