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Electronic cigarettes are everywhere. Television, social media, stores and friend

circles are just some examples of where vapes can be seen. It’s impossible to avoid them,

and some might argue that’s good. After all, there is a common belief that electronic

cigarettes are superior to cigarettes. Unfortunately, this is not true. Although electronic

cigarettes were created to be a better alternative to regular cigarettes, they have caused more

harm than good.

The health hazards that electronic cigarettes cause are the same as regular cigarettes.

An example of this is secondhand and thirdhand-smoke with vapes. Like Adrienne Santos-

Longhurst wrote: “There’s evidence that nonsmokers exposed to secondhand vape aerosol

absorb similar levels of nicotine as people exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke.” There’s

also proof that thirdhand-smoke in electronic cigarettes is also existent. Besides these facts,

there is no way to know the long-term effects of vape usage. Since e-cigarettes were invented

in 2003, there is little research and proof about what effects they have on the human body.

The American Cancer Society, an organization that was created to help people face cancer,

says that because e-cigarettes are still fairly new, there is a lack of research. This will

especially affect their most popular users.

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Teenagers are the most common users of electronic cigarettes. This is a culmination

of multiple factors, but the biggest reason is the way vapes are marketed. A lot of times, they

are marketed to appeal to youth: Their ads have bright colors and interesting, cool designs.

An example of a brand that does this is “Juul”. E-cigarettes also have nice flavors, like fruits

and sweets. The CDC says that “most youth who use e-cigarettes first start with a flavored

variety, and flavors are the primary reason youth report using e-cigarettes.”. The strategy to

appeal to teens clearly worked, as a study done by University of California San Diego, the

amount of youth using tobacco products hasn’t been this high since the 90’s. This means the

decline of tobacco usage in teens has risen again due to vaping. Besides this, vapes have a

much lower cost than cigarettes, and that’s why they are so used as a cessation product.

One of the main arguments to defend electronic cigarettes is that they are commonly

used to help smokers stop smoking. Although this is true, there is no proof that they actually

work. “No e-cigarette has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a

safe and effective cessation product.” (American Cancer Society). Besides their lack of proof,

a lot of smokers do something known as dual-use. Dual-use is when smokers use both

cigarettes and e-cigarettes, and this does no effect to help people stop smoking. This is

observed by Kristy G. on the CDC: “Some people try to cut back on smoking cigarettes or

work toward quitting smoking completely by using electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes),

smokeless tobacco, or other tobacco products in addition to regular cigarettes. This is called

“dual use.” Dual use is not an effective way to safeguard health.”. If a smoker truly wants to

stop smoking, there are less-harmful and proven to work methods to do so. An example of

this is nicotine patches.

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Electronic cigarettes cause harm to their users and have the same side effects that

cigarettes have. To make matters worse, there is no way to know their long term effects and

advise users of them. Vape companies have also been successful at creating young and loyal

customers with their advertisement. Besides that, the idea that e-cigarettes have helped

smokers stop smoking is unproven, and a lot of them end up addicted to both cigarettes and

vapes. All of these factors make it clear why electronic cigarettes, even if created with the

best of intentions, have caused more harm than cigarettes.

 Works Cited

“Adrienne Santos-Longhurst” Secondhand Vaping Is a Thing — Here’s What to Know.

Healthline. Nov. 21th 2022,

https://www.healthline.com/health/second-hand-vape

“American Cancer Society.”American Cancer Society Position Statement on Electronic

Cigarettes. American Cancer Society. Nov. 17th 2022,

https://www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/e-cigarettes-vaping/e-

cigarette-position-statement.html

“American Cancer Society” What Do We Know About E-cigarettes?. American Cancer

Society. Nov. 27th 2022,

https://www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/e-cigarettes-vaping/what-do-

we-know-about-e-cigarettes.html

“Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” Quick Facts on the Risks of E-cigarettes for

Kids, Teens, and Young Adults. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dec.

4th 2022,

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-

Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html

“Debbie L. Sklar” UCSD Study Examines Rise in Youth Tobacco Use Tied to e-Cigarettes.

Times of San Diego. Nov. 20th 2022,

 https://timesofsandiego.com/health/2022/05/30/ucsd-study-examines-rise-in-youth-

tobacco-use-tied-to-e-cigarettes/

“Kristy G.” Dual Use of Tobacco Products. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Nov.

25th 2022,

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/dual-tobacco-

use.html#:~:text=Some%20people%20try%20to%20cut,effective%20way%20to

%20safeguard%20health.