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 The use of e-cigarettes, which come in a wide variety of different
flavors, has become one of the fastest growing trends among the
tween and teen crowd, in large part because of the perception that
it’s harmless and safe.
However, that couldn’t be further from the truth, medical
professionals say. They said it’s imperative for parents to talk to
their children about the dangers of vaping.
“It’s easily available and many children think it’s safe and just
flavored water vapor,” said Dr. Christopher Rivera, a family
medicine physician with Memorial Physician Services-Lincoln. “The
reality is that it’s a drug and addictive just like any tobacco
product.”
Vaping among teens has increased dramatically over the last several
years,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of
Public Health. “While the short- and long-term effects of vaping are
still being researched, these recent hospitalizations heighten the
need for parents to talk with their teens about vaping and for both
to understand the consequences and potential dangers of vaping.”
Debbie Yeaman is a registered nurse and a registered respiratory
therapist at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. She said any
inhaled substance, such as vaping, has the potential to irritate and
inflame the lung tissue, which could lead to the swelling of the
airways in the lungs due to the tightening of surrounding smooth
muscle tissue.
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“The long-term effects of vaping could cause hypersensitive reactions that not
only constantly recur but also prove to be difficult to treat,” Yeaman said.
“Our history of a perceived innocence of tobacco use and the overwhelming proof
of that error in thinking should provide the wisdom we need to avoid inhaled
substances of any kind.”
Rivera pointed to targeted marketing tactics as a culprit in vaping’s growing
popularity.
“The industry is using the same tactics that were used by tobacco companies
several decades ago,” Rivera said. “They are denying the possible health risks
that can occur in using tobacco products.”
Rivera agreed that smokeless tobacco contains fewer chemicals than cigarettes,
but that doesn’t make it a safer habit.
“It still contains several harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde, which is
known to cause cancer,” he said. “The problem is this product has not been
around very long, and we don’t know the long-term health risks associated with
using e-cigarettes, and we won’t know for another 10 to 15 years.”
Poison control centers have managed 2,439 exposure cases about e-cigarette
devices and liquid nicotine as of July 31, according to the American Association
of Poison Control Centers.
The American Heart Association estimates that at least one in four teenagers is
vaping from results of a 2015 survey of more than 15,000 teens nationwide.
[Michael Leathers] |
