- Teens use e-cigarettes more than any other tobacco product.
- Vaping has its own health risks and can re-normalize tobacco use, eventually leading teens to smoking.
- Adults have healthier options available for quitting smoking than switching to e-cigarettes.
Has your teen talked about trying e-cigarettes or sampled some of the flavored versions being heavily marketed to teens?
Have you been tempted to try them?
If so, you have company.
Sales of e-cigarettes are said to be $6 billion worldwide and growing by more than 40% a year. The American Heart Association reports that e-cigarettes are now the most common tobacco product used by adolescents.
E-cigarettes are slim electronic devices that resemble cigarettes and include a heating element. When a cartridge is inserted and heated, the liquid "juice" inside vaporizes. Users then inhale the vapor—and the nicotine it contains.
Both adults and teens choose vaping over cigarettes for multiple reasons, including:
- Flavored vapor doesn't smell as bad as cigarette smoke.
- There is less of a social stigma around vaping than around cigarettes.
- Vapes are easily accessible—and easily concealed.
- Vaping offers hundreds of flavors, including sweet candy-like flavors.
- They believe vaping is healthier for them than smoking.
Teens: From Vaping to Smoking
While e-cigarettes are marketed as a safer alternative to cigarettes, they deliver the same addictive element: nicotine. As a result, says the American Heart Association, vaping may help re-normalize tobacco use and get kids started, even leading them to regular cigarettes over time.
After all, once a person is addicted to nicotine, they will seek out another delivery device if they misplace their "vape," it isn't charged or they don't have cartridges available.
And the most consistently accessible delivery device is cigarettes.
According to the American Lung Association (ALA), signs a teen may be vaping include:
- The presence of unfamiliar technology, online purchases or packaging
- Faintly sweet or fruity scents
- Behavioral and mood changes, including irritability or restlessness
- Increased thirst and a desire for more intensely flavored foods
- Pneumonia
- Nosebleeds
If you think your teen may be vaping, the ALA offers a Vaping Conversation Guide to help plan for and have discussions with them.
Even if your child has not begun vaping, Carilion Children's recommends talking to their pediatrician if you have any concerns.
Adults: From Vaping to Quitting?
Some adults who already smoke have successfully weaned themselves off regular cigarettes by using e-cigarettes. However, the American Cancer Society recommends against it, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any e-cigarettes as safe cessation products.
Quitting smoking has immediate and lasting health benefits. If you smoke—or if you've switched to vaping to try to quit—support is available to help you quit once and for all. Talk to your doctor or try one of these helpful resources:
- Carilion Clinic's Be a Quitter program; call for dates
- Carilion Clinic Pharmacy's free Quit for Life tobacco cessation program
- 1-800-Quit-Now
- Smokefree.gov
- BecomeAnEx.org
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This article was reviewed by Carilion Children's pediatricians.
