Research Paper on E-Cigarette and Vapour Products

E-cigarette and vapour products are forms of electronic nicotine delivery systems. These products release a nicotine vaporized solution that is inhaled. Nicotine is commonly found in vapour products, and it could also contain different flavours. The Food and Drug Administration classifies these devices as tobacco products, despite manufacturers selling them as products to help one quit smoking. According to research, these items are popular among teenagers, and, like tobacco products, they represent several health hazards to users. Previous research has found that vaping in teenagers is more commonly associated with exploration than with smoking cessation and that heavier e-cigarette users are the least likely to consider quitting. Teens are getting more interested in electronic cigarettes and vapour products, putting them at greater risk for health problems, necessitating actions, and creating policies to regulate the manufacture, marketing, and use of these products.

Prove the problem

Previous research has found that vaping in teenagers is more commonly associated with exploration than with smoking cessation and that heavier e-cigarette users are the least likely to consider quitting. According to a study by CDC, nicotine was found in almost all the e-cigarettes sold in monitored sites across the United States. Several e-cigarette labels that conceal the nicotine content, and some labelled as having 0% nicotine, were found to contain nicotine (Romberg et al., 2019). Nicotine is harmful to the growing teenage brain. 1 The brain is developing until around the age of 25. Nicotine use at early age has been exposed to weaken the parts of the brain that regulate thoughtfulness, impulse control, learning, and mood. Stronger links are formed in cells in the brain each time a new memory is grasped.

In recent years, adolescent e-cigarette consumption has risen rapidly in the United States. Even though just a tiny fraction of teenagers smoked e-cigarettes in 2011, by 2019, 28 percent of students in high school and 11 percent of middle schoolers had used them. By 2020, only approximately 20% of students in high school and 5% of middle schoolers will be using e-cigarettes. While this improvement over the previous year, e-cigarette use by children, households, institutions, and localities remains a public health concern. Adolescents have been specifically targeted in the marketing of e-cigarettes. Advertisements on social media were widely spread. Vaping advertising exploded between 2014 and 2016, with one survey revealing that 78 percent of students had seen at least one ad on the products (Jones & Salzmann, 2020). These products come in a variety of tastes to appeal to teens.

The long lasting health repercussions of e-cigarettes are still unknown to scientists. Various substances in e-cigarette vapour could be detrimental to the lungs. Since the gut can digest more compounds than the lungs, certain e-cigarette flavours may be less harmful to take but not to vape. Some fires and explosives have been triggered by faulty e-cigarette batteries, with a few significant injuries. Kids have been harmed by eating, inhaling, or absorbing e-cigarette liquid via their eyes or skin.

Causal analysis

It has been revealed that having much pocket money and taking e-cigarettes to go hand in hand. This could be because e-cigarettes are affordable to teenagers. This attribute could indicate that having a substantial budget in the hands of adolescents influences smoking behaviour, suggesting that parents who give their children pocket money should keep track of how they use it.

Adolescents also exhibit higher rates of impulsivity and, as a result, a higher inclination to engage in risky behaviours than other age groups. Individual perceptions influence their decision to engage in given conduct, per the scientific approach of planned behaviour. In line with the premise, many young people believe that e-cigarettes are a safer, more concealable, and healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes. E-cigarette usage may be more common among youths with low threat beliefs. Adolescents also use e-cigarettes because they are easier to obtain than other nicotine products, are less expensive, and can be used in places where other tobacco products are outlawed. Some students said they used e-cigarettes to stop smoking tobacco products or saw celebrities using them on Media or in films.

Many people are aware that nicotine has a number of detrimental consequences on children’s developing brains. Many e-cigarettes, however, have higher nicotine levels than traditional cigarettes, which is not universally accepted. In the United States, JUUL is the main popular e-cigarette brand; it is so popular that teens refer to it as “JUULing.” The nicotine content of a JUUL pod is 5%, which is about equivalent to the nicotine content of 20 combustible cigarettes (Jackler et al., 2019). To make matters worse, according to one study, only 39% of teenagers believe JUULs are e-cigarettes. Another survey found that 63 percent of teenagers were unaware that JUUL pods included nicotine.

Exposure to nicotine has been linked to cognitive problems, memory damage, and impulse control impairment in teenagers’ brains, in the process growing. Electronic cigarettes have been linked to increased impulsivity. One animal study shows that exposure to e-cigarette vapour during intense brain development (such as adolescence) can result in hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour changes. When comparing non-users to youths who smoked or vaped, another study indicated increased odds of physical conflict, attempted suicide, and alcohol usage in the young population.

Proposal

The advent of e-cigarettes and the subsequent boom of juvenile e-cigarette use have posed regulatory issues. These issues determine policies to discourage young usage, applicable taxes, clean air legislation, and product approval criteria. These regulations, however, have been ineffective as the popularity of these items continues to grow. To effectively control the marketing of these products, the government and other involved authorities such as FDA should ensure they carry out a thorough premarket review of all the products before they get into the market. This should be done to ensure the products are as advertised. A rule should also be passed to bar anyone under 18 years from using the products.

The FDA should remove illegal e-cigarette products from the market, particularly those that target and attract our children. The FDA began focusing regulation targeting flavoured, cartage e-cigarettes and other e-cigarettes that attract children in early 2020 (Brown et al.2020). In response to the recent upsurge in youth use of consumable e-cigarettes, the FDA has notified several disposable e-cigarette manufacturers that their products will be removed from the market in the United States. E-cigarettes should be subjected to a thorough scientific examination. The FDA should thoroughly examine the application and only approve these e-cigarette products if science shows, for example, that their marketing is suitable for protecting public health. Furthermore, while most of these FDA measures are geared at reducing adolescent e-cigarette use, the FDA should continue to assess and take necessary measures based on the most recent evidence about youth tobacco use in general.

The FDA should invest heavily in public education programs to inform young people about the risks of e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco and should collaborate with other organizations to do so. The FDA should also work with Scholastic to create interactive e-cigarette control lesson modules for middle and high school teachers, accessible on the Scholastic homepage in both English and Spanish (Brown et al.2020). Both classroom and distance learning material should be adjusted. Teachers and other adults can use these Scholastic materials to teach kids about the hazards of e-cigarettes. Parents may also want to provide free quit-smoking resources to a youngster they suspect is battling with addiction.

Conclusively, teens are becoming more involved in electronic cigarettes and vapour products, placing them at risk for health issues and mandating steps and regulations to govern the manufacture and marketing of these goods. This necessitates action to be taken to control this marketing. A thorough premarket review of all the products should be done before they get into the market. There also needs to be a rule that will bar those below 18 years from using these products. The FDA should invest heavily in public education programs to inform young people about the risks of e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco and should collaborate with other organizations to do so. Adolescents also use e-cigarettes because they are easier to obtain than other nicotine products, are less expensive, and can be used in places where other tobacco products are outlawed. Some students said they used e-cigarettes to stop smoking tobacco products or saw celebrities using them on Media or in films.

References

Brown, A., & Balk, S. J. (2020). E-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Current problems in pediatric and adolescent health care, 50(2), 100761.

Jackler, R. K., & Ramamurthi, D. (2019). Nicotine arms race: JUUL and the high-nicotine product market. Tobacco control, 28(6), 623-628.

Jones, K., & Salzmann, G. A. (2020). The vaping epidemic in adolescents. Missouri medicine, 117(1), 56.

Romberg, A. R., Lo, E. J. M., Cuccia, A. F., Willett, J. G., Xiao, H., Hair, E. C., … & King, B. A. (2019). Patterns of nicotine concentrations in electronic cigarettes sold in the United States, 2013-2018. Drug and alcohol dependence, 203, 1-7.

Singh, S., Windle, S. B., Filion, K. B., Thombs, B. D., O’Loughlin, J. L., Grad, R., & Eisenberg, M. J. (2020). E-cigarettes and youth: Patterns of use, potential harms, and recommendations. Preventive Medicine, 133, 106009.