E-cigarettes and children: what we know
Here at Bundoo, my job is to present information that pertains to children and their families in a manner consistent with best practices in medicine and science. After reviewing the current literature on the subject, I feel electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) exposure for children (including secondhand vaping) cannot be safely endorsed.
There are certain undisputable facts. E-cigarette use is increasing rapidly among adolescents and adults, and e-cigarettes are currently unregulated. Because of this, no standards exist regarding product manufacturing or safety. The amount of nicotine is variable as a result of this lack in regulatory oversight. Until rigorous research by unbiased parties is done on e-cigarettes, their true safety profile will remain elusive. E-cigarettes have not been approved by the FDA as aids in smoking cessation even though many powerful anecdotal stories have been reported. Secondhand risks are still a mystery. One would assume the number of carcinogens and toxins in electronic vapors is less than in conventional cigarettes, but to say e-cigarettes are “safe” based on this notion is dangerous.
Popular e-cigarette devices mimic traditional cigarettes and help to normalize smoking behaviors. Because they are offered in many child-friendly flavors (such as cherry, peppermint, and cookies and cream), there is also a concern that e-cigarettes pose a poison risk to children. Additionally, not all states have laws regulating the age at which e-cigarettes can be purchased, meaning minors may have easier access than with conventional cigarettes.
In a cross-sectional study published in the March 6, 2014, edition of JAMA Pediatrics, researchers from the Center for Tobacco Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco found that e-cigarette use was associated with higher odds of ever or current cigarette smoking, higher odds of established smoking, higher odds of planning to quit smoking among current smokers, and, among experimenters, lower odds of abstinence from conventional cigarettes. Use of e-cigarettes does not discourage, and may encourage youth to try tobacco products.
In summary, whether or not e-cigarettes are safer than typical tobacco cigarettes is beyond the intent of my review. I look forward to more research regarding the possible utility of e-cigarettes as smoking cessation aids in adults. However, as with traditional tobacco cigarettes, exposure to e-cigarettes should be avoided in children.
Reviewed by Dr. Sara Connolly, August 2019
As of 2019 there are a host of additional studies about e-cigarettes, vaping and the like. The results are not good and confirm what he suggested back in 2014 when he stated,”Use of e-cigarettes does not discourage, and may encourage youth to try tobacco products.”
-https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/documents/2016_SGR_Exec_Summ_508.pdf
-https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/youth-and-tobacco/2018-nyts-data-startling-rise-youth-e-cigarette-use
-https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html
“In a cross-sectional study published in the March 6, 2014, edition of JAMA Pediatrics, researchers from the Center for Tobacco Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco found that e-cigarette use was associated with higher odds of ever or current cigarette smoking, higher odds of established smoking, higher odds of planning to quit smoking among current smokers, and, among experimenters, lower odds of abstinence from conventional cigarettes. Use of e-cigarettes does not discourage, and may encourage youth to try tobacco products.”
Sorry Dr. Morgan, but the study you mention is being widely ridiculed, because it’s authors illogically jumped to the assumption that because ecig use was associated it’s possible that it was leading to smoking. That’s about as ridiculous as assuming that Nicorette gum use leads to smoking because it’s associated with smoking. Even the ALA, which has become one of the most radically anti-cig groups in the country, dismissed the conclusions of the study.
I find it odd that your blog post would contain the statement “until rigorous research by unbiased parties is done on e-cigarettes”, then go on to extensively quote a widely dismissed study on which the chief researcher was Dr. Stanton Glantz, who is a long time, high profile anti cigarette, and anti ecigarette activist.
I actually take the point that one thing that’s great for children, is to not be exposed to harmful second hand smoke, and another is not having to bury their parents due to a premature death caused by smoking related illness.
You say you have reviewed the literature on ecigs. Perhaps you’ve overlooked the studies below. Some of them are quite recent.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/14/18
http://taw.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/02/12/2042098614524430.abstract
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/10/5146
http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2013/03/05/tobaccocontrol-2012-050859.short
That is quite frankly, just a small sample of the currently available literature on this subject. Hope you will find time to review this.