Essay: Is Vaping Collateral Damage in the War on Smoking?
Electronic cigarettes are marked as less harmful alternatives to smoking. The electronic cigarettes are a current development in tobacco harm reduction. People who switch from tobacco smoking to the use of electronic cigarettes experience significant health benefits, such as better oral hygiene, healthy skin, and an improved sense of taste and smell. The use of these products has grown over the past years, with millions of people using them currently. Electronic cigarettes and some vape flavors contain nicotine, an addictive substance in tobacco; hence, the use and sale of electronic cigarettes undermine the war on smoking.
Vape releases vapor that has carcinogens and nicotine-related toxins. Vaping is currently marketed as a safe option to smoking, and advertisers aim to convince their clients into thinking that vape emits water vapor, which is not valid. Vape flavors contain contamination of nicotine and addictive metals from the manufacturing process. Vaping can hinder smokers from quitting smoking, and this results from gradual addiction caused by nicotine elements in some of the vape flavors. Youths and non-smokers are likely to embrace vaping, which can lead to them becoming addicted thus seeking more concentrated options to smoking, such as the use of tobacco-related products high in nicotine (Levy et al., 2019). Therefore, the usage of vapes without knowing the ingredients increases the chances of smoking. Firms manufacturing vape products should inform individuals about the presence of carcinogens and nicotine-related products, which are addictive.
Vaping serves as an introductory product for teens who later use other nicotine-associated drugs. Vape products and gadgets are the most popular form of nicotine used among youths. Vape gadgets are tiny and do not leave a trace of smoke after use. A majority of youths remain unaware that vaping cartridges contain nicotine, as most of them assume that they are only flavours (Levy et al., 2019). The availability of these gadgets and the captivating advertisements that lure youths into believing that they are safer than cigarettes have contributed to such products appealing to such age groups. Individuals who use vape products have an increased risk of continued use of cigarettes in the future. Besides, those who vape are less likely to stop smoking than those who do not. A relationship exists between the use of electronic cigarettes and progression to the use of actual cigarettes or tobacco related products (“Vaping vs Smoking,” 2017). Thus, vaping amongst adolescents might encourage the use of nicotine products and cigarette smoking in the future, which increases cases of drug abuse.
While vaping may prevent some health complications related to cigarettes, pure nicotine delivery gadgets have the same influence as cigarettes and other tobacco products. Vaping hides addiction underneath its initially clinical perception. Although vaping appears to be safe and harmless, it poses adverse effects on individuals who practice it (“Vaping vs Smoking,” 2017). Vaping is the most appropriate medication conveyance framework for nicotine, as well as any medication that can be broken down into fluid-structure and disintegrated at the correct temperature (Goldenson, Leventhal, Stone, McConnell, & Barrington-Trimis, 2017). Such drugs include; pot, cocaine, amphetamines, hallucinogenics, and narcotics. Drug abusers hide behind vaping to conceal their harmful behaviors, as users are unable to tell the medications used in the blending process. Thus, gaining an understand of vaping and its associated risks is imperative in a bid to protect young persons from engaging in such a habit.
Some tobacco companies produce nicotine products in the form of electronic cigarettes without full disclosure to the consumers. The recent rise in the popularity of vaping has prompted tobacco-related firms to invest heavily in the production of e-cigarettes and vape-related products (Levy et al., 2019). Ingredients used to make electronic cigarettes contain different chemical compositions, which lead to toxic emissions. Due to their portable nature, vape products and gadgets can be used as a delivery system of other smokable additives by fraudulent manufactures. This trend triggered the war on smoking, which has faced many obstacles. Electronic cigarettes are preferred by many individuals as they aim at minimizing the rates of cigarette smoking. However, vaping would have aided the war on smoking if vaping products would not have been produced by tobacco industries (Goldenson et al., 2017). To win the fight against smoking, the government, through its regulatory departments, should ban the production, sale, and use of nicotine-related products.
Vaping subverts the war against cigarette smoking by increasing the risk of addiction to nicotine products, which later leads to cigarette smoking and abuse of other drugs. Since vape gadgets are portable, one cannot easily deem it as a drug-delivery gadget. The war on smoking necessitates the ban on all nicotine and tobacco products. However, by encouraging vaping, chances of cigarette smoking increase. Vaping can be harmful to human health, and hence, should not be encouraged. The parties involved in the war against smoking should assess the impacts of increased cases of vaping to develop appropriate measures to manage the situation. E-cigarettes play a crucial role in reducing the hazardous health effects of smoking, particularly in individuals addicted to liquor and nicotine. Notably, since the health effects of flavors used in vapes are not established, vaping is likely to subject individuals who desire to quit smoking to various challenges due to the presence of nicotine, which is an addictive substance in tobacco.
References
Goldenson, N., Leventhal, A., Stone, M., McConnell, R., & Barrington-Trimis, J. (2017). Associations of electronic cigarette nicotine concentration with subsequent cigarette smoking and vaping levels in adolescents. JAMA Pediatrics, 171(12), 1192-1199. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.3209
Levy, D., Warner, K., Cummings, K., Hammond, D., Kuo, C., & Fong, G., … & Borland, R. (2019). Examining the relationship of vaping to smoking initiation among US youth and young adults: a reality check. Tobacco Control, 28(6), 629-635. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054446
Vaping vs Smoking. (2017), 233(3112), 5. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0262-4079(17)30243-9
