Electronic Cigarettes: Safe or Not?
The Electronic Cigarettes Craze
Some people claim to be using electronic cigarettes as a method to quit smoking, first switching to an e-cigarette and then cutting that out slowly. But there are things about these products that make them just as dangerous, or more dangerous, than real cigarettes. An e-cigarette does not contain tobacco, but it does still contain nicotine. This fact alone makes people believe that they are safer than real cigarettes, but this may not necessarily be true. Most people acknowledge that nicotine is addictive, but there is a common misconception that nicotine doesn’t cause any harm to the body.
Nicotine has many possible adverse side effects, including:
- increased blood pressure and heart rate
- insomnia
- dizziness
- headaches
- increased likelihood of strokes
There has been a lot of debate over how much control the FDA should have over e-cigarettes and how they are marketed. There have been court cases and appeals between the FDA and electronic cigarette companies. However, in May of 2016, “the FDA deemed e-cigarettes to be regulated “tobacco products” under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. Consequently, e-cigarette manufacturers and retailers are prohibited from informing consumers that e-cigarettes are less dangerous than combustible cigarettes. Such claims may be made only with the FDA’s approval, after submitting to a lengthy and costly approval process.”
While it is a good thing that the FDA regulates e-cigarettes and doesn’t allow companies to make false claims, it doesn’t automatically make them safe or any safer than other tobacco products. The FDA regulates tobacco products, and they are killing people by the millions worldwide.
According to an NBC article from 2018, some of the e-cigarette cartridges contain well-known cancer causing agents.
Problematic Marketing of Electronic Cigarettes To Young Non-Smokers
People also worry that e-cigarette companies are targeting teenagers. Another primary concern is the many different fruity flavors that e-cigarette cartridges come in. The worry is that these are targeting not only teenagers, but teenagers who don’t otherwise smoke. This is especially problematic if they are being marketed as a safe alternative to smoking. Remember, the companies selling electronic cigarettes have something to gain here – money – so it’s important to know what the real facts are.
Now that smoking cigarettes is banned in most public places, electronic cigarettes are appealing to people who want to smoke whenever and wherever they want. These people are inhaling pure nicotine, and quite often, they are using the e-cigarette much more than they would be smoking real cigarettes. Smokers may not be inhaling tobacco, but chances are they are inhaling much more nicotine than tobacco smokers.
The bottom line is that smoking electronic cigarettes is very dangerous and may not be safer than smoking real cigarettes.