European Paediatric AssociationThe Health Risks of Electronic Cigarettes Use in Adolescents
Section snippets
Definition of Vaping and Vaping Products
E-cigarettes and similar devices, such as pens and other types of products, including advanced personal vaporizers or modified e-cigarettes, have been introduced and mass marketed in Europe (2006) and in the US (2007). A typical vaping device includes a mouthpiece, a battery, a cartridge to be filled with e-liquid or e-juice, and a heating component for the device. When the device is switched on, the battery heats up the heating component, which turns e-liquids into an aerosol vapor that is
Epidemiology of Vaping in Teens and Adolescents
During the past 5 years, the popularity of vaping among adolescents has risen significantly.13 The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports an increase in the use of vaping devices by high school seniors, from 27.8% in 2017 to 37.3% in 2018.14 The NIH study estimates that the overall number of middle school and high school students reporting the use of e-cigarettes rose from approximately 2.1 million recorded in 2017 to 3.6 million documented in 2018, with a jump of 78% (from 11.7% to
Potential Health Risks
Studies on e-cigarette products, including disposable and refillable commercial articles, and e-liquids, report that they contain an average of 6.2 flavoring chemicals, and that e-cigarettes with sweet flavors have a significantly greater number of flavoring chemicals when compared with tobacco- and menthol-flavored products.25 More than 20% of commercial products were found to contain flavoring chemicals with a potential risk of inhalation toxicity, including benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, and
Conclusions
E-cigarettes and vaping devices have been introduced on the market as a safer and healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes, and available data suggest that they may help smokers to stop smoking long term, or to facilitate smokers unable to stop smoking entirely, to reduce their tobacco cigarette consumption.37 Studies have shown that regular, daily e-cigarette use is positively associated with a significant decrease in the number of cigarettes smoked per day, as well as with an increase
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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.