Nicole Dellolio – Opinions Editor
Recently electronic cigarettes have become popular in the United States and it is very easy to get your hands on them. These electronic devices are supposed to simulate the sensation of smoking without exposing users to the harmful products found in regular cigarettes that can lead to cancer and other health conditions. The makers of these products insist that they are a lot safer health wise for people to smoke but since they are so new it is hard to tell.
The Food and Drug Administration do not regulate electronic cigarettes and the devices don’t burn tobacco, but users inhale a liquid that contains nicotine.
All of this sounds great, but when these devices get in the hands of minors it is a whole different situation.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “the percentage of U.S. middle and high school students who use electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes more than doubled from 2011 to 2012.” Not only is this statistic shocking, but also it shows that children are not being taught that smoking can cause health problems later in life. Companies that are advertising these products make them seem like they are not harmful to users but that is not the case.
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report took a survey called the National Youth Tobacco Survey, which also backed up these findings.
“The study also found that 76.3 percent of middle and high school students who used e-cigarettes within the past 30 days also smoked conventional cigarettes in the same period,” according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “In addition, 1 in 5 middle school students who reported ever using e-cigarettes say they have never tried conventional cigarettes. This raises concern that there may be young people for whom e-cigarettes could be an entry point to use of conventional tobacco products.”
These statistics are shocking and they should not be taken lightly. Products such as these should be used as gateway devices for adults trying to ease off using regular cigarettes in order to lead healthier and longer lives. I know plenty of people in their forties that have been smoking since they were in high school, and these new electronic devices have helped them slowly ease off of regular cigarettes, which is how these products should be used.
I remember in middle school health class would consist of showing the dangers of smoking but kids would still do it anyways because their friends and family already did it so they thought that it would be normal for them to follow. These new devices are so new so I haven’t seen anything negative about them on the Internet yet, but just like everything else something is going to come out eventually about how they are harmful and addictive.
Smoking is addictive. Students in high school and middle school have also begun smoking cigars and hookah more than before.
“Little cigars contain the same toxic and cancer-causing ingredients in cigarettes and are not a safe alternative to cigarettes,” Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the Center for Disease Control Office on Smoking and Health, in a press release to CBS News. “Many flavored little cigars appear virtually indistinguishable from cigarettes with similar sizes, shapes, filters, and packaging.”
Getting children hooked to these products at a young age should be discouraged and children need to be taught in school the dangers of smoking all products, including electronic ones. With more and more stores selling these products they have to be more careful about selling these products to minors because it can cost them their lives. Something drastic has to be done in order for children to see the dangers of smoking especially at such a young age because their bodies are still developing.
Maybe the problem is that students in middle school have easy access to the products because the people selling them aren’t being careful enough about whom they are selling the products to, or maybe the students are doing whatever it takes in order to obtain them. Either way, something has to be done to discourage young people from starting to smoke from such a young age.
