The number of Americans using electronic cigarettes is soaring, especially among youth, a new study finds.
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Nearly 14 million U.S. adults vaped in 2018, up from just over 11 million adults in 2016. The increase was seen in all socioeconomic groups, the researchers found.
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“An increasing number of individuals are using e-cigarettes, especially in the younger age groups, which suggests that more individuals are becoming addicted to e-cigarettes rather than just experimenting with them, making the increased uptake among tobacco-naive individuals even more concerning,” said lead researcher Dr. Olufunmilayo Obisesan. She’s a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, in Baltimore.
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“The increase in e-cigarette use among individuals with other health-risk behaviors is also concerning, particularly in light of the outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injuries that has been linked to the vaping of tetrahydrocannabinoids [THC],” she said. THC is the main mind-altering ingredient found in marijuana.
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Between 2016 and 2018, young adults aged 18 to 24 years old were the fastest-growing population to start using e-cigarettes. E-cigarette use in that age group increased from 9% in 2016 to 15% in 2018, and use among students increased from 6% in 2016 to 12% in 2018.
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E-cigarette use even increased among people who had never smoked traditional cigarettes – from more than 1.4% in 2016 to 2.3% in 2018, the findings showed.
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Also, people who were into other risky behaviors – such as drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana – were more likely to use e-cigarettes, the study authors said.
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For the study, the researchers collected data on more than one million Americans who took part in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 2016 to 2018.
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“Increase in e-cigarette use among adults in the U.S., particularly daily use, is reflective of the addictive potential of e-cigarettes,” Obisesan said. “This is very important to note, particularly for the youth and for individuals who currently use or are considering using them as a means of experimentation.”
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The report was published online September 8 in JAMA Internal Medicine. Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine at the Center for Tobacco Control, Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, said the increase in e-cigarette use is troubling because the health risks of e-cigarettes are similar to the risks linked to traditional cigarettes.
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“I think there’s some things that are pretty clear now – one is in terms of lung disease. E-cigarettes are about as bad as cigarettes – you’re still breathing in ultrafine particles, heavy metals and flavors that have high pulmonary toxicity,” he said. Glantz also pointed out that the damage e-cigarettes can cause in the lungs may also make COVID-19 infections more severe. E-cigarette use has also been tied to an increased risk of heart disease, and in animal experiments, to cancer and DNA damage, he added.
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The bottom line for Glantz is that e-cigarettes aren’t safe alternatives to regular cigarettes and often lead to dual use.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the power to regulate e-cigarettes, and they could actually ban them, Glantz said.
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“The FDA can simply say, we’re not going to allow these products to be sold,” he said. “In order to sell e-cigarettes in the United States, you need to have what’s called a marketing order. If the FDA doesn’t grant a marketing order, then the product can’t be sold. If the product can’t be legally sold, that will solve the problem.”
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SOURCES: Olufunmilayo Obisesan, MD, MPH, postdoctoral fellow, Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Baltimore; Stanton Glantz, PhD, professor, medicine, Center for Tobacco Control, Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco; JAMA Internal Medicine, Sept. 8, 2020, online
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