E-cigarettes heat nicotine (extracted from tobacco), flavors, and other chemicals to create an aerosol that is inhaled. Common tobacco cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic. The long-term health effects of e-cigarettes are not yet well understood. But science clearly indicates that vaping is not a safe or healthy alternative to smoking.
We will continue to support research into the health consequences of this and other trends in tobacco products that seek to attract a new generation of consumers. For a shred of good news, the latest figures released by the CDC show a decline in vaping among high school students in the senior year (one in five students versus one in four previously); but that is offset by the alarming 1,000% increase in e-cigarette use disposable among teens, as a result of a loophole in the new law banning flavored e-cigarette cartridges, but not the disposable version (flavored vaporizers are thought to be especially toxic). And, in fact, researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine found that people who vape are 75 percent more likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), along with other lung disorders, than those who don't. A new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that young people who vape have a five times greater risk of being diagnosed with the virus, and have a seven times greater risk if they vape and smoke cigarettes.
