Will Vaping Lead Teens to Smoking Cigarettes?

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Will Vaping Lead Teens to Smoking Cigarettes?
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Among young people, vapes are more popular
compared to all other tobacco products. A 2 015
study led by a U.S. surgeon showed that vaping
among high school and middle school students had
risen by 900 percent, and 40 percent of young
vapers had never consumed regular cigarettes
before. There are a couple of reasons vaping is
particularly en ticing to the young
generation. Firstly, they believe that vapes are
less harmful than ordinary cigarettes. Secondly,
vapes are characterized by lower per-user costs
compared with ordinary cigarettes. Thirdly,
vapes dont produce smoke, smell, and eliminate
the stigma of smoking. Lastly, vape tanks are
usually formulated with various flavorings like
apple pie, watermelon, or strawberry that are
way too appealing to younger users. Whats more
baffling is that people who shouldnt consume
vape products are the ones leading. Its an
absurd situation. Vaping and vapes are often
promoted as safer methods for n icotine
consumption or an alternative to cigarette
smoking. But what about the converse? Can vapes
lead to ordinary cigarette smoking? The
relationship between e-cigarettes and the
consumption of ordinary cigarettes in the future
is a stark warning for the urge to regulate these
products to protect our young generation. The
sudden upsurge of e-cigarette use among youths is
evoking fears among parents, school
administrations, and the government. But, whereas
studies have shown a relationship between vapes
and ordinary cigarettes, its been less clear
whether consumption of e-cigarette results in
smoking. A recent study has found that people who
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begin vaping at a younger age are more likely to
switch to regular cigarettes compared to their
peers who do not have prior tobacco/nicotine
consumption. The outcome supports the opinion
that e-cigarettes increase risks of subsequent
smoking in teenagers. Are e-cigs a gateway to
cigarette consumption for teens? A larger
percentage of vapes and e-liquids contain
nicotine, the addictive component of tobacco. In
most parts of the world, e-cigarettes are
classified as tobacco products and controlled
accordingly. Teens have such a mediocre
knowledge of vapes and related products. They
may not know if these products contain nicotine
or not, or what impacts they may cause. But
since its socially acceptable to consume these
products rather than smoke, they tend to believe
vapes are safe and healthy. Nicotine is super
addictive and vaping nicotine-based products may
not stop there. These young vapers are more
likely to indulge in illicit drugs. We might be
puzzled by how the solution would cause a
problem. We might be staring at the next smoking
pandemic through teens getting addicted to vapes
early in their lives. The relationship between
vaping and eventual smoking is even strong for
low-risk teens. These are the children who are
not big on thrill-seeking, kids who do not drink
alcohol or take hard drugs, or teens whom their
parents/guardians think they would candidly say
no if their peers or some irresponsible people
offered them to smoke. Even more interesting is
that there is a peculiar relationship for the
kids who begin with other kinds of tobacco such
as cigarillos and hookah their probability of
becoming smokers later on is not higher than
that of younger vapers. There appears to be
something extraordinary about vapes leading
low-risk teens to an increased risk of smoking.
But the truth of the matter is that all these
kids are equally more likely to end up smoking
one day. Teens who indulge in e-cigs are three
times more presumably to find themselves in
smoking dens than their mates who do not
consume any kind of tobacco or nicotine
products, new research finds. This isnt good
news for the medical fraternity which
advocates for no smoking below the adult age
and for the vaping industry, which is promoting
e-cigarettes as alternative ways to smoking. In
a recent study, which didnt point out whether
vaping leads kids to smoking ordinary
cigarettes, the scientists found some sort of
association between consumption of e- cigarettes
and later smoking of ordinary cigarettes,
particularly for teens who are normally regarded
as low risk for substance abuse. These findings
are specifically prompt in the wake of WHOs
recent announcement that a record number of high
school and middle school-going children are
using e-cigarettes. According to the study,
e-cigarettes help just a proportion of adult
cigarettes smokers to quit. Also, it shows that
the vaping industry and regulators are walking on
a tightrope. On one hand, the use of vaping
products as cessation tools for smoking may
collapse.
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On the other hand, with the growing sets of
evidence that e-cigs act as an on-ramp to
hazardous combustible cigarettes, this is even
worse. Now, lets answer the questions at hand
i s vaping safe, safer than smoking? Does it lead
to cigarette smoking, are vapes and related
products a gateway to smoking among young
people? Vaping Is It Safe? Or Just Safer Than
Smoking? Over the years, owing to public health
concerns and government regulations, the tobacco
industry has endeavored to find methods to make
regular cigarettes less harmful. Some of the
past changes like the inclusion of filters and
making of light cigarettes have been an
illusion in reducing the harm. Today, vapes and
vaping products have garnered a remarkable
reputation as safer ways to use nicotine and
probably a method to quit ordinary cigarettes.
The bottom line is using a safer way to consume
nicotine. So far, studies suggest that vapes and
vaping products are less harmful than regular
cigarettes. But how safe are e-cigarettes? Are
they safer than combustible cigarettes? These
are the reasons Vaping is less harmful than
smoking The consumption of combustible cigarettes
is harmful to your health. It causes lung
cancer, heart diseases, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, stroke,
reduced immune system, and ultimately death in
nearly 60 percent of long-term users. Compared to
smoking, vaping is less harmful but this does not
approve of it being completely safe. Smokers
inhale nicotine and several chemicals into their
respiratory system where those chemicals are
absorbed in the bloodstream and travel to the
brain. Vapers follow the same process, except
rather than burning tobacco leaves to unleash
nicotine, they use e- cigarettes to vaporize
nicotine-based liquids. They then inhale the
nicotine-containing vapor/aerosol to their
lungs, where nicotine is absorbed into the
bloodstream and quickly transported to the
brain. This rapid delivery of nicotine to the
brain cells causes addiction. Users are addicted
to both smoking and vaping. Apart from nicotine,
both vaping and smoking deliver ultrafine
particles of heavy metals such as lead, arsenic,
and mercury, organic compounds, as well as
carcinogenic chemicals. But the degree/volume of
these toxicants typically is way lower with e-
cigarettes than combustible cigarettes. As such,
if a heavy smoker completely switches to vaping,
its considered a wise move as vaping is less
harmful. The long-term effect of e-cigarettes
are untold
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Although nicotine consumption causes respiratory
conditions such as bronchitis, chronic cough,
pneumonia, and asthma among others, vaping is
relatively new and researchers havent yet
documented the long-term effects associated with
e-cigarettes. Also, there is wide variability in
vaping products, which muddles studies. This
includes the lack of sound knowledge on the
safety of these products and the way they have
remained unregulated to date. Vapes are
classified as tobacco products and legalized to
stay in the open market provided that their
promoters wont claim they are making
therapeutic products. For this reason, the vaping
industry cannot claim they are helping people
quit smoking. Its only through creativity these
e-cigarette makers have managed to survive by
marketing their products as switching gadgets.
This has remained a major hurdle to research the
long-term effects of e-cigarette
consumption. Other than e-juices, vapes can as
well be used to consume other substances such as
marijuana and illicit drugs, and even very little
is known about their health effects.
Some marijuana vaping juices contain vitamin E
Acetate, a compound that was associated with
lung diseases that caused huge numbers of
hospitalization and deaths in 2019, calling for
a prompt intervention by the Centers for Disease
Control. Thus the ease of interference (using
other liquids in place of vape juice), lack of
product control, and lack of product disclosure
imply users may not even be aware of what they
are consuming. Quitting nicotine can quite be
difficult but absolutely worth it It is very
simple to quit nicotine addiction never smoke,
vape, or consume any tobacco or nicotine-based
product, especially during your teenage stage. In
childhood, your brain is rapidly developing and
any sort of manipulation by nicotine can cause
long-term effects of addiction. V aping without
nicotine can act as an alternative
here. Quitting nicotine addiction, regardless of
the way you consume it is not a walk in the park.
Besides, it doesnt matter the age at which you
began consuming it. So curiosity,
experimentation, and peer pressure can quickly
turn you into a lifelong addict with costly or
even deadly consequences. Does Vaping Lead to
Cigarette Smoking? The fact that vapes are
readily available, promoted everywhere in the
mainstream, printed and social media, and are
believed to be safer than ordinary cigarettes
make them appealing to younger people. Besides,
they can play monkey business and hide them from
their parents and teachers as they dont leave
behind the stink of combustible cigarettes, and
can easily disguise them as flash disks. A
survey of high school students discovered that a
quarter of teens confessed to using vapes for
dripping. Their reasons for dripping were to
generate thick vapor clouds, enjoy improved
flavors, and get a strong throat punch.
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E-cigarettes might serve as introductory tools
for teens who later indulge in other nicotine-
laced products like combustible cigarettes.
Studies show that preteens and teens who began
vaping by the time they entered 9th grade were
more likely to indulge in smoking a year later
compared to their peers. In another study
showing similar results, it was found that high
school students who consumed vaping products in
the previous month were roughly seven times more
likely to confess that they consumed regular
cigarettes approximately six months later than
their innocents peers. In all the studies,
students who reported having smoked combustible
cigarettes were no more likely to confess
consumption of vaping products when asked roughly
six months later. These outcomes suggest that
young vapers are at greater risk of becoming
cigarette smokers in the future. Another study
of adult smokers found that those who had
previously vaped were not as likely to quit
smoking than those who never vaped. Additionally,
this group of smokers who had previously been
vapers smoked more regularly than their peers who
didnt vape. This shows how tempting vaping is
and how it can lead vapers to cigarette
smoking. Health effects of vaping for teens The
teenage period is important for brain development
that spans even into young adulthood. Teens who
abuse nicotine and related products in whatever
form, either through vaping or smoking, are
peculiarly at risk of long-term effects. Since
nicotine, as a substance or drug, affects the
development of the brain system, prolonged
nicotine consumption can not only cause
addiction, but also makes other hard drugs like
cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine appear more
pleasurable to the youngsters. Additionally,
nicotine interferes with the growth of brain
circuits that regulate attention and learning,
other conditions being mood disorders or
permanent issues associated with impulse
regulation. Summary There are numerous credible
mechanisms through which vaping among teens may
result in subsequent initiation to regular
cigarettes and related combustible tobacco
products. Firstly, the flavorings that
desensitize the consumers lungs to the aversive
effects of inhaling nicotine, enabling a gradual
transition from never smoked to consuming
combustible cigarettes. Secondly, the art of
holding e-cigarettes in the manner of disguising
ordinary cigarettes prompts them to try ordinary
cigarettes. Lastly, teens first introduced to
nicotine through vapes develop nicotine
dependence, over time they may be tempted to test
other forms of nicotine. The rapid increase in
vape consumption among young people has
normalized the consumption of vaping products,
which is slowly normalizing smoking-like habits
such as blowing smoke clouds and vapor clouds in
public places. If the government and society
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remain mum on issues of teens indulging in
vaping, soon there will be institutionalization
of these kinds of social behaviors.