•July 4, 2018•

By Gordon Hopkins,
Rural Health News Service

The electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, has been touted – without proof – as a healthier alternative to traditional tobacco products and perhaps even a method of breaking the tobacco habit altogether. Now a new, related product with the brand name JUUL has entered the market and is especially appealing to teens.
An e-cigarette, which looks much like a traditional cigarette, heats a liquid to create an aerosol, called “vapor,” that can be inhaled.
It is true that many of the toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke are not present in the “vapor.” However, most e-cigarettes still contain nicotine in addition to some chemicals not necessarily found in tobacco.
A Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study published in Environmental Health Perspectives says some chemicals in e-cigarettes are linked to a severe respiratory disorder and that nicotine is still addictive even if it’s delivered in a vapor.
Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved electronic cigarettes as a safe or effective method to quit smoking.
The bottom line is, no study has yet identified the long-term effects of “vaping,” and the belief that it is somehow safer than regular cigarettes may lead users to indulge more than they might otherwise.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.