Vaping and E-Cigarettes : The New Public Health Problem

Vaping and E-Cigarettes : The New Public Health Problem


As the number of vaping-related illnesses and deaths in the U.S. continues to rise, government officials at the federal, state and local levels have focused on curbing – and, in some cases, banning – the sale of e-cigarette and vaping products, especially those appealing to minors.To get more news about Cheap Vape Deals, you can visit urvapin official website.

As of early November, there had been more than 2,050 confirmed and probable cases of severe lung disease and 39 deaths in 24 states linked to vaping in the U.S., with some of the patients in their teens. The reaction has been swift: The Trump administration signaled a forthcoming ban on all non-tobacco flavored e-cigarette products, while governors in New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island and Washington have moved to sharply restrict or even eliminate sales of e-cigarette products. California is cracking down on illicit and bootleg e-cigarettes, and retail giant Walmart announced it would stop selling the devices in its stores. Internationally, India banned the sale of all e-cigarettes, citing newly found health risks.
On Nov. 5, federal health officials identified vitamin E acetate -- an oily, sticky substance sometimes used as a thickening agent in vaping products -- as a possible cause of the illnesses; the substance was found in 29 samples of lung fluid from patients who had fallen ill after vaping.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned consumers to stop vaping. "While the investigation is ongoing, CDC has advised that individuals consider not using e-cigarettes because as of now, this is the primary means of preventing this severe lung disease," Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman, who is managing the CDC's response to the outbreak, said in a call with reporters and other federal officials.

E-cigarettes and vape pens go by many names, including e-cigs, e-hookahs, mods, vapes, tank systems and electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS. They come in many shapes and sizes, but all have three main components: a heating element, a liquid that typically contains flavorings and nicotine, and a mouthpiece.

While alternatives to traditional cigarettes have been around since the late 1800s, the first "smokeless non-tobacco cigarette" was patented in August 1965, according to the U.S. surgeon general's report on e-cigarettes. The modern e-cigarette was originally developed to help smokers avoid some of the health problems associated with traditional tobacco cigarettes, and the first type was patented by Hon Lik – a Chinese pharmacist whose father died from smoking-related illness – in 2003. A year later, Stanford University graduate students Adam Bowen and James Monsees independently created what eventually became the Juul, a device intended to "disrupt the tobacco industry" and deliver "a nicotine level found in no other alternative on the market."

Sales of e-cigarettes have surged since they entered the U.S. market around 2007, according to a recent surgeon general's advisory. The devices have been the most popular tobacco product among U.S. youth since 2014, with youth more likely than adults to use e-cigarettes. Nearly 3% of U.S. adults were current e-cigarette users in 2017.