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Tobacco Use is Soaring Among US Kids, Driven By E-cigarettes (axios.com)

Posted by msmash on from the growing-concerns dept.

Public health officials Monday said there's a growing epidemic of tobacco products currently used by children -- 4.9 million high school and middle school kids used tobacco products in 2018 up from 3.6 million in 2017 -- mainly due to a growth in e-cigarette usage. From a report: For the fifth year in a row, e-cigs were the most popular product amongst high school students, but in 2018 it reached unprecedented epidemic levels, with the addition of another 1.5 million kids, said Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Current users" are defined as people who've used a tobacco product in past 30 days. "Frequent users" are defined as people who've used the product for more than 20 out of the past 30 days.

9 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. e-cigarrettes arent tobacco by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I personally doubt they are any better for you, but vape juice is definately not tobacco.

    1. Re:e-cigarrettes arent tobacco by pegr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Absolutely better for you. Nicotine is no worse for you than caffeine. It's the other nasties in tobacco that are bad for you.

      https://www.forbes.com/sites/s...
       

    2. Re:e-cigarrettes arent tobacco by wiggles · · Score: 5, Informative

      That's not true. Nicotine is directly associated with increased stroke and heart attacks. It attacks the venous system.

      https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com...

    3. Re:e-cigarrettes arent tobacco by wiggles · · Score: 5, Informative

      No. Caffeine in the form of 4 cups or more of coffee per day actually has a preventative effect according to this meta-analysis:
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...

    4. Re:e-cigarrettes arent tobacco by sjames · · Score: 5, Informative

      From your link:

      Conclusions: The use of NRT is not associated with any increase in the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death.

      So no, nicotine minus the tar, particulates, and carbon monoxide is NOT associated with an increased of cardiovascular risk.

      Looks like you read what you (for some reason) wanted to read rather than what was written.

    5. Re:e-cigarrettes arent tobacco by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 5, Insightful

      From your link:

      Conclusions: The use of NRT is not associated with any increase in the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death.

      So no, nicotine minus the tar, particulates, and carbon monoxide is NOT associated with an increased of cardiovascular risk.

      Looks like you read what you (for some reason) wanted to read rather than what was written.

      It is the modern purist's version of reefer madness. The puritans don't need actual facts.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    6. Re:e-cigarrettes arent tobacco by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In moderation though

      Nearly all caffeine users have little difficulty keeping their use in the "good" range. But for nicotine, there is no "good" range, and it is far more addictive.

      As well, the puritans who are shitting their pants because the tobacco users have found a loophole in vaping

      Nonsense. We are only shitting our pants over kids getting ahold of vaping devices. Adults can do what they want.

      Do you really think that putting a highly addictive and harmful product into the hands of kids is acceptable? They are too stupid and naive to understand the consequences.

  2. Does that really count? by thereddaikon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yeah kids shouldn't be using vapes but should it be considered a tobacco product when it doesn't have tobacco in it? The biggest issues I see with them are that they often contain nicotine which is addictive, and the Fed's refusal to regulate them properly means they could have god knows what in the vape juice. Instead of having the pearl clutching knee jerk of they are evil maybe the FDA should actually regulate the things properly so we can ensure that they don't have unsafe chemicals in them.

    1. Re:Does that really count? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So what, adults should only be able to choose from flavors such as Buttered Ass and Steamed Kale? Things that are "appealing to kids" are also appealing to adults. How about we stop trying to ban everything 'for the children', because it's making the world pretty lame for the rest of us.