EAPP

QUARTER 2 WEEK 1
RODRIGO, Alyzza Bianca B.
11-AUTONNE

E-cigarettes: A Public Health Concern

E-cigarettes or vaping was invented and introduced by Chinese
pharmacist Hon Lik as an alternative to conventional smoking. Since then, it has
been used by several regular smokers to help them cope with the withdrawal
symptoms from tobacco use. A study from 2019 claims that 9% of smokers
entirely quit smoking after they shift to vaping. The endless variation of flavors
alone would make them switch to using e-cigarettes. As a product coming from
the Chinese market, it took a while before it reached the United States, where
several groups expressed their concerns regarding the product being consumed
by people out of their target market. As a modern world student, it is concerning
to see people my age using e-cigarettes to validate their maturity and hop on
trends. E-cigarettes or vaping may help other smokers from breaking their
habits. Still, non-smokers such as teens unexpectedly engage in vaping, drifting
from its original purpose of combatting tobacco use and now raising a public
health concern.

Various factors from a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration of the United States
enumerate why e-cigarettes attract non-smokers and youths. The first factor
gathering a record of 39% would be family and friends influence them from using.
The relevance of vaping is as close to becoming a gateway drug to non-smokers
because of its rapid spread. Studies also state that someone introduced to vaping
might sooner or later transition to conventional smoking out of curiosity. Second
data proves 31% of people claim that juice flavors play a significant role in
switching and trying e-cigarettes. It is proven that they are marketed that way to
attract more users and convince them that they are much safer to use than
regular tobacco, which is the last reason with a record of 17.1% response.
Although manufacturers claim them to be less harmful, they do not equate to
safety. The World Health Organization is still in the process of studying the long-
term effect of vaping because it hasn’t been long since the market introduced the
product. They encourage people to stop as soon as possible before developing
potential health risks such as addiction caused by Nicotine formulated with the
juices. Vaping is reasonable for smokers trying to break from their old habits,
and anything other than that is not.

Its users should acknowledge the false promise that vaping is a “safer”
option. Its long-term effect is still unknown, but underlying health issues would
relatively occur in the long run. Health professionals suggested that smokers
quit smoking entirely due to the alarming increase in the morbidity and mortality
rate from smoking. Vaping may be part of the solution in tobacco cessation, but
researchers stated that combining it with behavioral treatment and therapy
would effectively make a smoker quit. As for the growing rate of teen vapers,
governments should tighten their regulations to prevent youth exposure to this
type of gateway drug. Manufacturers should also be mindful of their target
market and stick to their main agenda of eradicating tobacco use for a smoke-
free and safe environment.