The vaping epidemic refers to the effects that are caused after someone uses a vape product. These devices have been reported to cause many cases of lung injury, which can ultimately result in permanent damage or death. The main reason that this epidemic and its risks cause so much concern is that vape devices are most commonly used by teenagers.
Full Answer
Why you should stop vaping?
Why should you stop vaping?
- It compromises the immune system. This might come off as a big surprise to you primarily because vapes have always been marketed as safe products.
- Vaping can damage the lungs. E-cigarettes come in a range of sweet flavors that have nasty risks for the respiratory system. ...
- Nicotine is very addictive and destructive. ...
- Vaping can result in cancer. ...
Why vaping is bad facts?
Vaping is not only bad for lung health, but it also causes problems for the teeth and gums as well. One study conducted in 2018 showed that several e-juices caused bacterial growth on the teeth, which led to users developing cavities.
What are the negative health effects of vaping?
The short-term side effects of using nicotine vapes are usually:
- Lingering aftertaste
- Light-headedness
- Sweating
- Headache
- Nausea and vomiting
- High blood pressure
- Increased heart rate
What are the dangers of vaping?
The interchangeable use of smoking and vaping is most common in people under age 35. They face equal risk of heart attack or stroke than if they lit up exclusively. The takeaway is that there is no ‘best’ method of inhaling nicotine.
When did the FDA start regulating e-cigarettes?
It is important to note FDA’s initial efforts to regulate e-cigarettes began more than a decade ago. Between 2008 and 2010, FDA attempted to regulate e-cigarettes as unapproved drug/device combination products. FDA’s action was challenged and ultimately, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that while FDA could choose to regulate e-cigarettes and other products “made or derived from tobacco” under its new tobacco authorities, it could not regulate these products under FDA’s drug and device authority unless they were marketed for therapeutic purposes. 1
Why did the FDA suspend inspections?
Suspending inspections was necessary to protect the health and safety of FDA’s staff and contractors (both adults and youth) who participate in the inspections. However, FDA’s monitoring and surveillance of websites, publications, and social media continued without interruption during that time.
How many inspections has the FDA done?
Since 2010, FDA has conducted more than 900 inspections of manufacturing establishments, some of which manufacture ENDS products (including e-liquids). Since the Deeming rule took effect on August 8, 2016, FDA has conducted more than 2,500 vape shop inspections.
How many warning letters did the FDA issue in 2021?
As of May 31, 2021, FDA had issued more than 120 warning letters to firms selling or distributing unauthorized ENDS and that did not submit premarket applications by the September 9 deadline. Collectively these companies have listed a combined total of over 1,280,000 products with FDA.
What is the FDA's role in tobacco?
In 2009, Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act), which amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) to authorize FDA to oversee the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of tobacco products and protect the public from the harmful effects of tobacco product use.
Why is the FDA investing in research?
FDA is investing in regulatory science research to learn more about how ENDS products are being used and their health impacts. Research findings help inform the Agency’s regulatory decision-making.
How many youth use e-cigarettes in 2020?
While we are seeing some progress in youth prevalence rates, the fact that there are still 3.6 million youth e-cigarettes users in 2020 is deeply concerning and underscores the critical need for FDA to address youth use of e-cigarettes and other ENDS.
How can physicians help with vaping?
The other way physicians can help address vaping in adolescents is by participating in advocacy at a local, state or national level. Currently in the state of Missouri, e-cigarettes are not included in the definition of “Tobacco Products” and thus are not subject to the same restrictions as combustible cigarettes. The sale of e-cigarettes to those under 18 years of age is prohibited, just as with tobacco. But the only regulation in place for e-cigarette packaging is that the liquid must be in child-resistant containers. The American Academy of Pediatrics is currently advocating for Missouri to include e-cigarettes in smoke-free laws and to increase the minimum age to purchase electronic cigarettes to 21 years.16Organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Physicians have both released position papers on vaping and offer further ways to join the fight. It is time for physicians to ask their adolescent patients about vaping and to provide education to the child and parents on the dangers of vaping. Physicians have the responsibility to be advocates for their patients working with medical organizations, state and local governments to address the adolescent vaping epidemic.
What is an electronic cigarette?
Electronic cigarettes are battery-operated devices that use an electric pulse to heat and aerosolize a flavored liquid that typically contains nicotine. They were first introduced to the U.S. in 2007, and they were advertised by the tobacco companies as an adjunct method to help patients quit smoking. This claim never had evidence to support it, as studies comparing the use of electronic cigarettes, placebos, and nicotine patches demonstrated no significant differences in abstinence rates.3But because e-cigarettes were seen as a treatment option, they were not subjected to the same regulations as combustible cigarettes. It wasn’t until 2016 that the Congress passed the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act, giving the FDA the authority to regulate e-cigarette packaging.1
What is the advertising for e-cigarettes?
Advertising for e-cigarettes has been heavily aimed at adolescents. Everything from the billboards to the packaging to the product itself has been aimed at teens. Ads on social media were widely distributed. From 2014 to 2016, advertising for vaping exploded and one study found that 78% of middle and high school students had been exposed to at least one advertisement.1Pods come in fun packaging and the different pods are flavored to be attractive to adolescents, with everything from mint to gummi bear to frosted sugar cookie. This is especially concerning because studies have shown that flavor is one of the most important factors adolescents consider in trying e-cigarettes.4The devices to aerosolize the pods are designed to look like anything from USBs to pens to inhalers. They can be personalized much like a cell phone case and backpacks have special pockets for the mod devices.
Do e-cigarettes increase the chance of smoking?
There has also been evidence that suggests e-cigarette use increases an individual’s chance of using combustible cigarettes . Adolescents who use e-cigarettes are 3.6 times more likely to report using combustible cigarettes later in life.9Teens have also been shown to be more susceptible to addiction. We know that nicotine addiction often originates in adolescence with studies showing that close to 90% of adult daily smokers started before the age of 18.10Thus, e-cigarettes are effectively helping to create a new generation addicted to nicotine.
Is e-cigarette use increasing?
Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has recently risen to the forefront of medical discussions across the country. A significant increase in e-cigarette use by adolescents has been observed over the last decade. This article discusses the targeting of adolescents by e-cigarette companies. It looks at how teenagers are uniquely affected by nicotine and at risk for progressing to using combustible cigarettes and marijuana. Lastly, it discusses the role of physicians in combating the spread of e-cigarettes.
Can vaping be used to inhale cannabinoids?
Many vaping devices can also be used to inhale cannabinoids. One study demonstrated that teens who use nicotine liquid in e-cigarettes were 3.6 to 4 times more likely to use marijuana in the next two years.1Another study demonstrated that 1 in 10 seniors in high school vape cannabis.6This should be extremely distressing to physicians and medical providers because it is known that marijuana is extremely harmful to the development of the adolescent brain and studies have actually shown changes in brain structure. As a result, deficits in attention, learning, and memory associated with cannabis use in adolescents has been reported.11One study demonstrated that high schoolers who use marijuana were four times more likely to have multiple sexual partners when compared to students who only use tobacco or alcohol.12A sizable portion of adolescents who use marijuana report symptoms of paranoia, anxiety and hallucinations.13. Adverse effects from marijuana use, including cannabis hyperemesis syndrome have become common among pediatric patients.14
What Is the Vaping Epidemic?
It’s important to note that the vaping epidemic refers not to the act of vaping itself, but to the distribution and purchase of vape products like Juuls. This outbreak has been continuing at a steady pace since 2007, when vape devices first started to see some popularity. However, it is difficult to determine exactly how or why the epidemic began.
8 Things You Need to Know About the Vaping Epidemic
Since many scientists and doctors still have a lot to learn about the vaping epidemic, there are many questions floating around about the issue. So we’re here to separate the rumors from the facts and tell you eight things you should know about the vaping epidemic.
How to Protect Youth From the Epidemic
Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee that young people will not use vaping devices. While certain states have banned or tried to ban certain vape devices for years, not many of the policies have stuck.
Which states have banned vapes?
Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Utah have taken steps to ban flavored e-cigarette sales or even the sale of all vapes.
How many eighth graders have vaped?
A national survey of 42,531 eighth–12th graders finds that 25.4% of high-school seniors have vaped nicotine in the last month, while 20.2% of 10th graders and 9% of eighth-graders have done so. All of these figures have grown dramatically since 2017, the survey found, with past-month nicotine vaping skyrocketing 131% among 12th-graders in just two years.
What is the AMA's support for the Stop Vaping Ads Act?
The AMA supports H.R. 4249, the “ Stop Vaping Ads Act of 2019 ,” and urges Congress to take swift action to adopt legislation to ban e-cigarette product ads.
How to call the White House to ban flavored e-cigarettes?
Tell the Administration to ban flavored e-cigarettes! Call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111.
What is the minimum age to buy e-cigarettes?
We encourage the passage of laws, ordinances and regulations that would set the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, at 21. The AMA also urges strict enforcement of laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco and e-cigarette products to minors.
When did the AMA remove flavored e-cigarettes?
AMA letter to White House: remove flavored e-cigarettes from the market. On Nov. 26, 2019 , the AMA and the public health community sent a letter to the White House with the message that we believe it is essential to clear the market of all flavored e-cigarettes, including mint and menthol, if we are going to reverse the youth e-cigarette epidemic.
How many people use nicotine containing products?
About 58% reported using nicotine-containing products, and 17% reported exclusive use of nicotine-containing products. The outbreak’s cause is still unknown and the investigation continues, but the CDC recommends that people refrain “from using e-cigarette, or vaping, products, particularly those containing THC.”.
Who declared e-cigarette use an epidemic among teens?
This week, Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb declared e-cigarette use an epidemic among teens.
How long does it take for e-cigarettes to be approved by the FDA?
“The AAP rejects FDA’s decision to allow five leading e-cigarette manufacturers to submit plans in 60 days for how they will address youth use of their products.
Can the FDA regulate e-cigarettes?
FDA has the ability today to do what tobacco companies can’t and won’t do: take effective steps to reduce and eliminate youth use of e-cigarettes,” the group said. “The Academy urges the agency to use its existing authority to immediately regulate all e-cigarettes.
Is nicotine addictive?
Some of the devices deliver a hefty load of nicotine, which decades of research has shown is highly addictive. It also can affect a developing brain in harmful ways.
Do teens smoke e-cigarettes?
Studies have shown that teens who try-e-cigarettes are far more likely to then go on to smoking old-fashioned combustible cigarettes. Hawkins saw it first-hand in a patient who lost her Juul device and became frantic in her need for a nicotine fix. “She was smoking two packs (of cigarettes) a day,” Hawkins said.
When will vaping end?
The American Lung Association's initiative to end the youth vaping epidemic launched on September 1, 2020, with an integrated, multi-component approach to support parents, schools and students.
What is the American lung association's vape free school initiative?
The American Lung Association's Vape-Free Schools Initiative will help schools support students impacted by e-cigarettes. As a member of the Vape-Free Schools initiative, schools will learn to navigate the youth vaping crisis by learning to implement INDEPTH ®, an alternative to suspension and Not-On-Tobacco® (N-O-T) a vaping/tobacco cessation program.
How much money does the American Lung Association spend on research?
The American Lung Association has committed $2 million toward research to understand the alarming effects of vaping on kids and find a solution to vaping related lung injury.
What are the different types of e-cigarettes?
E-cigarettes are a rapidly changing product class, and are known by many different names, including “e-cigs,” “e-hookahs,” “mods,” and “vape pens.” 2 Recently, a new type of e-cigarette has become increasingly popular among our nation’s youth due to its minimal exhaled aerosol, reduced odor, ...
How do e-cigarettes affect the brain?
2 Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine – the addictive drug in regular cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products. 2 Nicotine exposure during adolescence can harm the developing brain – which continues to develop until about age 25. 2 Nicotine exposure during adolescence can impact learning, memory, and attention. 1,2 Using nicotine in adolescence can also increase risk for future addiction to other drugs. 1,2 In addition to nicotine, the aerosol that users inhale and exhale from e-cigarettes can potentially expose both themselves and bystanders to other harmful substances, including heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deeply into the lungs. 2
Can e-cigarettes be used for marijuana?
2 E-cigarettes can also be used to deliver other drugs, including marijuana. 2 In 2016, one-third of U.S. middle and high school students who ever used e-cigarettes had used marijuana in e-cigarettes. 6
Is it too late to stop smoking e-cigarettes?
Talk to your child or teen about why e-cigarettes are harmful for them. It’s never too late.
Do Juul e-cigs have nicotine?
All JUUL e-cigarettes have a high level of nicotine. A typical JUUL cartridge, or “pod,” contains about as much nicotine as a pack of 20 regular cigarettes. 10 These products also use nicotine salts, which allow particularly high levels of nicotine to be inhaled more easily and with less irritation than the free-base nicotine that has traditionally been used in tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. This is of particular concern for young people, because it could make it easier for them to initiate the use of nicotine through these products and also could make it easier to progress to regular e-cigarette use and nicotine dependence. However, despite these risks, approximately two-thirds of JUUL users aged 15-24 do not know that JUUL always contains nicotine. 11
Introduction
- Good morning, Chairman Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member Cloud, and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today to discuss the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA or the Agency) efforts to address youth use of electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS, which include e-cigarettes. I am Janet Woodcock, Acting FDA Comm...
Background
- Let me start with some information on our tobacco regulatory authorities and our recent regulatory efforts regarding ENDS and e-cigarettes. Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. Each year, more than 480,000 people in the United States die prematurely from diseases caused by cigarette smoking and exposure to toba…
Regulatory Requirements For Ends Products
- When the Deeming rule took effect in August 2016, many of the regulatory and legal requirements that had been in place for manufacturers of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigarette tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco since 2009, as well as several new requirements specific to deemed products, became applicable to manufacturers of e-cigarettes and other ENDS products. These i…
Data on Youth Use of E-Cigarettes
- FDA collaborates with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to administer the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) to middle and high school students each year. The survey provides important data that allow us to understand current youth tobacco product use in a larger historical context. NYTS data from 2018 and 2019 showed disturbing increases in the use of e-c…
FDA’s Actions to Address Youth Use of Ends Products
- Protecting our nation’s youth from the dangers of tobacco products is among the Agency’s most important responsibilities, and we are taking aggressive steps to make sure tobacco products are not being marketed or sold to kids. Our work to protect youth from tobacco products is comprehensive and includes compliance and enforcement, premarket review, public education, …
Conclusion
- Thank you again for the opportunity to testify about FDA’s comprehensive efforts to regulate ENDS, including our actions to prevent youth access to, and use of, these products. The efforts described here are just a part of the important work FDA and the Administration are undertaking to protect children and youth from the harms of tobacco products. We still have much to accom…