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Since 2014, e-cigarettes have passed regular cigs as the most commonly used form of tobacco among young people in the United States. Pro-vapers will argue that this is a positive trend considering e-cigs turn liquid nicotine into an inhalable vapor without the harmful tar generated by regular cigarettes. The U.S. Surgeon General, however, has recently called the perpetually increasing use of youth e-cig use “a major public health concern.”
“My concern is e-cigarettes have the potential to create a whole new generation of kids who are addicted to nicotine,” Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy said in an interview. “If that leads to the use of other tobacco-related products, then we are going to be moving backward instead of forward.”
“We know enough right now to say that youth and young adults should not be using e-cigarettes or any other tobacco product, for that matter,” Murthy said. “The key bottom line here is that the science tells us the use of nicotine-containing products by youth, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe.”
Public health officials are especially concerned due to the hazy understanding of the long-term effects of vaping coupled with the belief that vaping is a gateway outlet to the use of other tobacco-related products.
According to the Washington Post, over the past five years, the number of middle school and high school students who report having used e-cigarettes has tripled and people ages 18 to 24, the number has doubled.
Health-risks aside, some experts argue that vaping is valuable in that it acts as the most effective method of birth control.
[h/t Washington Post]