With advancements in technology you would think that we had a better handle on designing safer products that benefit the body oppose to harming it.. well, you would think. Long gone are the days of the snake oil salesman, right? Again, you would think but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The troubling news is that our youth are just as susceptible to fancy ads and gimmicks as our ancestors were back in the early days.
“The Original Cure All!”
“Relieves Instantaneously.. and cures: headaches, nueralgia, cough, cold, sneezing, hiccups, gout, gonorrhea, dyptheria, damplang, mumps, measles, whooping cough, tuberculosis, and even Bowden’s Malady.”
Our favorite part… “For Blindness try our Rattlesnake Oil”
Were these ads real? You better believe it. Worst yet, they set trends.. celebrities join in and it’s cool. Switching from regular cigarettes to electronic cigarettes sounds like a fantastic idea.. electronic, how bad could that be right? As it turns out, perhaps worse. You think you’re switching to a “light” version of something but instead
Are Electronic Cigarettes Bad For You?
A quick Google Search suggests very quickly that it is. At the very top of our page when we ran a search on “Are Electronic Cigarettes Bad For You” we saw this..
.. even the top sites recommended by Google, Yahoo and Bing are all cancer websites. What does this tell you?
In 2015 WHO (World Health Organization) advised various countries that they should seriously consider a ban on the sale of electronic cigarettes to underage people because of the serious threat they pose. One has to wonder why stop there? If a product is extremely dangerous for underage people, why should it be used by anyone of any age?
The UN Health Agency says that while there isn’t enough evidence or information about electronic cigarettes, there is enough information to suggest extreme caution for children, adolescents, pregnant women, and women of reproductive age. They also recommend that laws be passed to make it illegal to use them in public spaces.
Do Vapor Cigarettes Cause Cancer?
In asking the question again, are electronic cigarettes bad for you.. the short answer is yes, quite bad. In fact, e-cigs have 10 times more cancer causing ingredients than regular cigarettes! Until recently electronic cigarettes were recommended as the answer to smoking without the dangers and addiction of regular cigarettes but with little or no research being performed prior to this product being released (or shall we say ON), the FDA has no information at all. With a budget of over $4.5 billion annually, the FDA has very little information to offer or warn you with.
The FDA has an FAQ (frequently asked questions) page discussing E-Cigarettes: Questions and Answers. On that page they define what electronic cigarettes are as “products designed to deliver nicotine or other substances to a user in the form of a vapor.”
A better way to define what an electronic cigarette is would be to describe how they are made of a rechargeable device that has a built-in heating element. A person places a cartridge into the device that could contain nicotine or other chemicals and an atomizer, then when it is heated it converts the contents of the cartridge into vapors that the person inhales. Many devices are designed to look like cigarettes, cigars or pipes, however there are a few creative companies out there now that are making other unusual or gag devices. Some companies have designed various electronic cigarettes to look like everyday items so people don’t realize what they are, such as pens or USB memory sticks.
When asked “What concerns does the FDA have regarding electronic cigarettes?” their website only indicates that the safety of any e-cigarettes has not been evaluated, nor has it’s effectiveness of what they say they do.. this basically means they don’t know, which may seem unusual for an FDA approved item but it’s not. There are countless products that have been approved but not evaluated. This isn’t very promising if you’re a smoker and looking for an alternative. In the end, quitting is best.
According to Japanese scientists, electronic cigarettes contain 10 times the level of cancer-causing carcinogens than regular cigarettes, all under the myth that they are less dangerous. Chemicals like formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are just two of the cancer-causing chemicals that can be found in the “vapor”, which is extremely alarming. The real issue lies in the fact that they are hugely popular with youth.. youth that were not smoking prior to trying electronic cigarettes and went directly to them. New habits are being formed rather than replaced, which isn’t good either way. In fact, the CDC (the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention) states that ” .. more than a quarter of a million youth who have never smoked a cigarette used electronic cigarettes in 2013.” This is more than three times higher from 2011 (79,000 in 2011, 263,000 in 2013, according to a study published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research).
Electronic cigarettes also may contain potentially life-threatening drug-resistant pathogens, such as live methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This should be very alarming to everyone.
Does vaping cause cancer? Research says yes!
Do E Cigarettes Work?
It depends on what you mean by “work”. Do they help to control your cravings? Yes. Do they help to curve your appetite for nicotine? No.
Do E Cigarettes Give You A Buzz?
Yes and this is worrisome for many health professionals. Anything that has the ability to “give you a buzz” also has the ability to pull you in and cement you into a new addiction (and additional problems).
Resources
http://www.learn.eversmoke.com/common-myths-about-e-cigarettes.html
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