The Banning of E-Cigarettes

The use of electronic cigarettes is a highly controversial issue from psychological, sociological, political, and scientific viewpoints. From the user's viewpoint, vaping is a new value proposition with fewer adverse consequences than traditional smoking. However, similar to conventional smoking, e-cigarettes produce a gas that the user inhales. Still, unlike the nuisance smoke and odor that conventional cigarettes produce, vaping contains minimal smoke and comes in various flavors. However, the inhaled aerosol contains nicotine and other chemicals. Any nicotine amount affects the brain. Additionally, e-cigarette cartridges and their solution include dangerous compounds that are more harmful to consumers than traditional cigarettes. To reduce the negative impacts of vaping on society and individuals, including lung disease, the impairment of young people's neural development, experimentation with other illicit drugs, and a generation-wide addiction to nicotine, vaping should be outlawed through stringent policies.E-cigarette proponents assert that they are a smoking cessation tool or an alternative to traditional smoking. The widespread usage of vaping devices has significantly impacted the incidence of cigarette smoking in countries where smokers have easy access to this method of quitting. Vaping devices are currently a popular aid for quitting in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union. In 2019, people used vaping devices in 31.9% of cases involving quitting in England (Mendelsohn et al.). In France, 27% of smokers trying to quit in 2010 utilized vaping, vs. 18% who used nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) (Mendelsohn et al.). According to Euromonitor, the number of adult vapers increased and reached over 40 million globally in 2018 (Mendelsohn et al.). However, it is hard to establish that a single method is accountable for the population's altered smoking habits. However, it is noteworthy that e-cigarette smoking rates have grown in the UK and the USA during the same time as vaping has become more popular and population quit rates have risen. This status has not changed due to tax increases, public health marketing initiatives, or other causes (Mendelsohn et al.). According to supporters, the widespread usage of vaping is likely a factor in the quick decrease of traditional smoking.

However, e-cigarettes are not as safe as most people believe, making them a threat to public health safety. Proponents of e-cigarettes believe it saves lives by helping smokers quit conventional cigarettes, claims which have yet to be proven. The FDA does not make regulations based on anecdotal evidence; hence there is inadequate proof of the health benefits of e-cigarettes (NCI). The FDA is responsible for quality control through appropriate labeling, prevention of sales and advertising of harmful products to children, and ensuring all e-cigarette manufacturers list the product's ingredients (NCI). Moreover, e-cigarettes cause various illnesses. For instance, skin contact with minimal quantities of liquid nicotine can result in seizures, dizziness, and vomiting (Henstra et al.). Ingesting the liquid is also a deadly venture. Thus, e-cigarettes threaten public health safety; hence they should be regulated. 

Furthermore, e-cigarettes are to blame for the widespread epidemic of serious lung diseases, also known as e-vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI). According to state and federal data, the prevalence of EVALI cases and symptoms increased dramatically in 2019, peaking in September 2019. (Besaratinia and Tommasi). In the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, there were 2807 EVALI cases or fatalities by February 18, 2020 (Besaratinia and Tommasi). Data analysis of these cases shows that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) emulsified with Vitamin E acetate vaping products, especially when obtained from online dealers, friends, and family, cause EVALI (Besaratinia and Tommasi). The FDA has also detected Vitamin E in several products and EVALI patients' lung fluid samples from individuals from various states (Belok et al.). The public should thus be aware of the harmful effects of e-cigarettes to mitigate the prevalence of EVALI. Banning e-cigarettes could also prevent them from being a precursor to conventional smoking. Some people may begin smoking tobacco cigarettes and even more dangerous drugs after they have had some experience with e-cigarettes (Pipe and Mir). Therefore, contrary to popular belief, e-cigarettes do not help smokers quit and can prime the user's brain reward system, increasing their risk of addiction to other drugs. 

Additionally, although vaping products have been marketed as a popular method for quitting smoking, they are not. There is proof that some types of e-cigarettes offer high nicotine levels and that nicotine-based smoking products can aid in quitting smoking (Diemert et al.). However, reviews examining the relationship between using e-cigarettes and quitting smoking tend to agree that one does not exist. Villanti et al. (2018) showed that vaping might reduce cigarette use; however, they only utilized a small number of studies, the majority of which were randomized control trials. However, Banks et al. (2020) concluded that there is inadequate evidence to support the use of e-cigarettes as a method of quitting smoking due to the low quality of the data and the lack of possibility for competing interests in the research taken into account. The approach that Hajek et al. (2019) used to show that e-cigarettes can lead to an 18% one-year smoking cessation rate was incorrect. The study was not blinded, and the therapy for the control group was not standardized (Hajek et al.). Therefore, research on the efficacy of e-cigarettes in helping smokers quit has yielded conflicting results; as a result, the marketing is ineffective.As a result of the widespread infiltration of chemicals into e-cigarette cartridges, vaping is utilized to cover up the usage of illegal narcotics. Many critics assert that vaping water is safer than regular cigarettes' nicotine (Al-Hamdani and Manly). However, medical organizations strongly warn against e-cigarettes since data suggests that nicotine can change young people's neurological functioning regardless of its concentration. However, nicotine and its negative consequences are insufficient justifications for outlawing vaping (Henstra et al.). Although e-cigarettes are sold legally, some are sold on the black market and are modified to accommodate other substances that have more adverse effects on the human body (Friedman and Tam). Undoubtedly, e-cigarettes are causing much harm despite the intention of their design, resulting in worse outcomes. Banning e-cigarettes would thus ensure their elimination in public and private spaces, particularly in schools. 

E-cigarette prohibition will lessen children's access to them. Since smoking is a bad habit, it should not be made attractive to young people. According to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Youth Tobacco Survey, at least 14.5% of high students and 3.3% of middle school children used e-cigarettes for at least one day during the survey month (McGinley). As of 2018, 37.3% of 12th graders reported smoking e-cigarettes, up from 27.8% in 2017, according to the National Institute of Health's (NIH) Monitoring the Future Survey (Volkow). With a 78% increase in high school kids who use e-cigarettes and 21% of all high school students using them, the rise in e-cigarette usage among young people is an epidemic (Volkow). These trends are alarming as they indicate how easy it is for minors to access e-cigarettes and show that society is on the verge of causing a whole generation to be addicted to nicotine. Besides the easy availability, the issue is further exacerbated by alluring advertisements, various e-liquid flavors, and the common belief that they are safer than conventional cigarettes, which make the product appealing to minors and adolescents (Besaratinia and Tommasi). Some flavors are those loved by children, including cotton candy and gummy bears; hence this is an excellent example of the good packaging of a harmful product (Besaratinia and Tommasi). From the preceding, restrictive policies should be implemented in enforcing bans on using e-cigarettes to lower the accessibility to children. 

The question of whether vaping is an aid for quitting smoking or a route for more harmful consequences is necessary due to the enormous growth of the vaping sector. Proponents of vaping claim that it is an effective technique for smoking cessation, and some researchers have even published works supporting this notion. However, most of the published studies have methodological flaws and inconclusive results; hence one cannot rely on them. Vaping should be banned because its harmful effects outweigh any possibility of pros it may present. Vaping has been documented to cause lung sicknesses, such as EVALI. It is also a pathway for new smokers of tobacco who may then venture into using other illegal substances. E-cigarettes also contain nicotine which is addictive even in small doses. Therefore, it is worrying that these products are being advertised to lure the young generation through numerous available flavors and false claims of their advantages compared to tobacco. Therefore, banning e-cigarettes will improve public health and end the vaping epidemic. 

Works Cited

Al-Hamdani, Mohammed, and Eden Manly. “Smoking Cessation or Initiation: The Paradox of Vaping.” Preventive Medicine Reports, vol. 22, Elsevier BV, June 2021, p. 101363. doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101363.

Banks, E., et al. “Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Evidence on the Efficacy of E-cigarette Use for Sustained Smoking and Nicotine Cessation.” MedRxiv, Nov. 2020, doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.02.20224212.

Belok, Samuel H., et al. “E-cigarette, or Vaping, Product Use-associated Lung Injury: A Review.” Pneumonia, vol. 12, no. 1, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Oct. 2020. doi.org/10.1186/s41479-020-00075-2.

Besaratinia, Ahmad, and Stella Tommasi. “Vaping Epidemic: Challenges and Opportunities.” Cancer Causes &Amp; Control, vol. 31, no. 7, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, May 2020, pp. 663–67. doi.org/10.1007/s10552-020-01307-y.

Diemert, Lori, et al. E-Cigarette Use for Smoking Cessation. Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, 2019, www.otru.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/special_vape_quit.pdf.

Friedman, Abigail S., and Jamie Tam. “E-Cigarettes: Matching Risks with Regulations.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 60, no. 1, Elsevier BV, Jan. 2021, pp. 146–50. doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.07.011.

Hajek, Peter, et al. “A Randomized Trial of E-Cigarettes Versus Nicotine-Replacement Therapy.” New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 380, no. 7, Massachusetts Medical Society, Feb. 2019, pp. 629–37. doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa1808779.

Henstra, Charlotte, et al. “Managing Intoxications with Nicotine-containing E-liquids.” Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology, vol. 18, no. 2, Informa UK Limited, Feb. 2022, pp. 115–21. doi.org/10.1080/17425255.2022.2058930.

McGinley, Laurie. “Kids Are Flocking to Flavored, Disposable E-cigarettes, Study Finds.” Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2022, www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/10/06/teen-vaping-cdc-fda-study.

Mendelsohn, Colin, et al. “Could Vaping Help Lower Smoking Rates in Australia?” Drug and Alcohol Review, vol. 39, no. 4, Wiley, Jan. 2020, pp. 415–18. doi.org/10.1111/dar.13039.

NCI. “FDA Oversight of E-Cigarettes Gathers Speed.” National Cancer Institute, 5 Jan. 2022, www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2022/ecigarettes-zeller-fda-regulation.

Pipe, Andrew L., and Hassan Mir. “E-Cigarettes Re-examined: Product Toxicity.” Canadian Journal of Cardiology, vol. 38, no. 9, Elsevier BV, Sept. 2022, pp. 1395–405. doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2022.08.001.

Villanti, Andrea C., et al. “How Do We Determine the Impact of E-cigarettes on Cigarette Smoking Cessation or Reduction? Review and Recommendations for Answering the Research Question with Scientific Rigor.” Addiction, vol. 113, no. 3, Wiley, Oct. 2017, pp. 391–404. doi.org/10.1111/add.14020.

Volkow, Nora. “Monitoring the Future Survey Results Show Alarming Rise in Teen Vaping.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, 7 July 2020, nida.nih.gov/about-nida/noras-blog/2018/12/monitoring-future-survey-results-show-alarming-rise-in-teen-vaping.