By Brenda Flanagan
Correspondent
“It’s a much better alternative than cigarettes,” said general manager of the Ultimate Smoke and Vapor in Hoboken, Mike Guarino.
He swears, vaping electronic cigarettes that deliver water vapor and varying doses of nicotine helped him kick the dirty, dangerous habit of smoking tobacco.
“I was a smoker of cigarettes for 14 years. I’m 18 months now, haven’t touched a cigarette,” said Guarino.
The surgeon general says there’s no conclusive proof that vaping helps adult smokers quit. But he issued an alarm along with a new report that claims vaping can lead kids to start.
“Research has shown that kids who use e-cigarettes are more likely to use traditional cigarettes,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.
The report notes, one in six high school students said they’d used an e-cigarette within the past 30 days last year, 16 percent compared to just 1.5 percent in 2011. And almost 60 percent of those who used tobacco products also used e-cigarettes. It’s the highly-addictive nicotine that most concerns U.S. health officials.
“It can also have adverse effects on the developing brain of adolescents and young adults. These effects can lead, not only to addiction, but also deficits in attention and learning, reduced impulse control and mood disorders,” says Murthy. “The message from the report is clear: nicotine containing products in any form, including e-cigarettes, are not safe for youth.”
“It is good that the surgeon general is taking the science that’s out there that shows this is bad for your health and that people should not use this to quit smoking and should not use it for fun, like young people are,” said GASP Executive Director Karen Blumenfeld.
New Jersey banned the sale of e-cigarettes to minors back in 2010 and a new study shows if e-cigarettes are harder to get, kids are less likely to smoke — period. Study co-author Rahi Abouk of William Paterson University explains why.
“Kids start using e-cigarettes first because it’s very appealing to them. There are many flavors and they think that it’s very harmless, compared to conventional cigarettes. However, after a while, they don’t get enough nicotine out of them, and automatically would switch to conventional cigarettes, which is definitely more harmful,” said Abouk.
But in other countries, like England, opinions differ. The Royal College of Physicians earlier this year issued an opinion on e-cigarettes that it claims, “…laid to rest almost all of the concerns over these products… smokers should be reassured that these products can help them quit all tobacco use forever.”
And an e-cigarette advocate in New Jersey agrees that kids need protection, but he opposes the U.S. campaign against vaping.
“The surgeon general with this report is trafficking in fear and intimidation. To do so at the expense of scientific integrity and at the expense of adult awareness is ultimately going to be harmful,” said Alex Clark from the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternative Association.
The surgeon general’s campaign kicked off only a few weeks before the new Trump Administration takes over so it’s uncertain whether this new initiative will gather strength or go up in smoke.