WHILE YOU READ

Read this text by Carley Thompson from Public Health Insider. Do the activities below.

Not just water vapor: why e-cigarettes are so dangerous

By Carley Thompson

With the youth vaping epidemic sweeping the country (the culprit, JUULs, have you heard of them?)
scientists, researchers, and public health advocates have been taking a look at how vaping really affects
youth and their health (parents, you can help too).
Here’s what we know:
Tobacco use among youth and young adults in any form, including e-cigarettes, is not safe.
Youth are more vulnerable to addiction
Nicotine is a highly addictive substance. A single JUUL pod (a cartridge of vape liquid) contains as much
nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, or 200 cigarette puffs. (D)This powerful nicotine punch is putting a new
generation of youth at risk for nicotine dependence. Nicotine during adolescence and young adulthood can
have long-term negative impacts on brain development and can cause addiction.
Compared with older adults, the brains of youth and young adults (which are still developing until age 25)
are more vulnerable to the negative consequences of nicotine exposure. The effects of nicotine on the
developing brain include reduced impulse control, deficits in attention and cognition, mood disorders, and
addiction.
Because addiction is a form of learning (which happens at an accelerated rate during brain development)
youth and young adults can get addicted to nicotine more easily than adults. The nicotine in e-cigarettes
and other tobacco products can even train your brain to be more easily addicted to other drugs like meth
and cocaine.
It’s not just water vapor
(C) Many teens think vaping isn’t that harmful and that e-cigarettes just contain water vapor. But, that isn’t
the case. Although e-cigarettes generally emit fewer toxins than combustible tobacco products, we know,
according to a recent report from the U.S Surgeon General, e-cigarette aerosol is not harmless water
vapor. It can expose users to several chemicals, including nicotine, carbonyl compounds, and volatile
organic compounds (such as benzene, which is found in car exhaust), which are known to have adverse
health effects.(A) Flavorants in vape liquid can also be harmful to your health. Diacetyl, the flavoring
chemical in some e-cigs, gives food a buttery taste. But, when inhaled, it is linked to a serious lung disease
called “popcorn lung.” Researchers found diacetyl in 75% of the vape liquid they tested. If that’s not
enough, heating vape liquid can produce dangerous byproducts, including heavy metals like lead, tin,
aluminum, and nickel, all of which is inhaled.
While the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authority over the manufacturing of vape products
that contain nicotine, there is no oversight in what goes into the products that claim to be non-nicotine. (E) It
may be years before the FDA considers regulating chemicals used in vape products.
Gateway to lifelong tobacco use
Tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States.
Young adults who use e-cigarettes are more than four times as likely to begin smoking tobacco cigarettes
within 18 months as their peers who do not vape, and nearly all habitual tobacco use begins during youth
and young adulthood. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, e-cigarette use among
youth and young adults is strongly linked to the use of other tobacco products, such as regular cigarettes,
cigars, hookah, and smokeless tobacco. Preventing youth from vaping can help a whole generation avoid a
lifetime of nicotine dependence.
We need to know more
Though we know that aerosol from e-cigarettes is not harmless, the health effects and potentially harmful
doses of heated and aerosolized e-liquids, including solvents, flavorants, and toxins, are not completely
understood. Scientists are still working to understand more fully the health effects of e-liquids, both when
they are heated and when they are turned into an aerosol.
(B) Gaps in scientific evidence exist, and the e-cigarette market and vaping products are changing rapidly.
We need long-term research to fully understand the effects of vaping on our health and the health of youth.
Taken from: https://publichealthinsider.com/2018/08/28/not-just-water-vapor-why-e-cigarettes-are-so-dangerous/
1. Read the following statements and answer T/F. Justify all the answers.

Statement T F

1. Nicotine in a single JUUL pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes x

Justification: "A single JUUL pod (a cartridge of vape liquid) contains as much nicotine
as a pack of cigarettes, or 200 cigarette puffs."

2. E-cigarettes emit harmless water vapor x

Justification: "Although e-cigarettes generally emit fewer toxins than combustible
tobacco products, we know, according to a recent report from the U.S Surgeon General,
e-cigarette aerosol is not harmless water vapor."

3. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently regulates all chemicals used in x
vape products, including non-nicotine ones.
Justification: "While the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authority over the
manufacturing of vape products that contain nicotine, there is no oversight in what goes
into the products that claim to be non-nicotine."

2. Answer the following questions

a. What are some of the potential long-term negative impacts of nicotine exposure during adolescence and
young adulthood?
"The effects of nicotine on the developing brain include reduced impulse control, deficits in attention and
cognition, mood disorders, and addiction."
b. Why is diacetyl mentioned in the text, and what health risk is associated with it in the context of vaping?
"Diacetyl, the flavoring chemical in some e-cigs, gives food a buttery taste. But, when inhaled, it is linked to
a serious lung disease called 'popcorn lung.'"
c. What is the relationship between vaping and the initiation of tobacco cigarette use among young adults?
“Young adults who use e-cigarettes are more than four times as likely to begin smoking tobacco cigarettes
within 18 months as their peers who do not vape”