Are E-Cigs Gateway Devices?
By: Tiffany Davis
Flavor Vapor Media Specialist
In the world of e-cigs and personal vaporizers there is a lot of talk about if they are gateway devices to start smoking traditional cigarettes. I know I have heard some incredible stories of people switching to vaporizers from traditional cigarettes. But, I have not heard to many stories where people just pick of an e-cig or vaporizer for the heck of it.
I personally was not a smoker when I picked up a vaporizer. I had already quit smoking traditional cigarettes a few years ago but, the “want to” never stopped especially when I became stressed or was in social settings with friends. So, for me instead of going to the store to buy a pack of cigarettes when I’m stressed I now have my vaporizer. So, my big question was how many people are like me that picked up vaping to avoid smoking traditional cigarettes and how many people started vaping from using traditional cigarettes?
Involved with this concern is the fact that people under 18 are picking up e-cigs or personal vaporizers. According to: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/12/health/e-cigarettes-debate/index.html
“Tobacco use has been on the decline with kids; it's about half what it was in the mid-1990s. But the latest CDC study shows a growing number of middle and high school students have tried e-cigarettes.One in 10 high school students surveyed said they had tried e-cigarettes last year. That's double the number from 2011. One high school in Connecticut banned them after the principal said administrators dealt with at least one incident involving e-cigarettes every day.” “But as far as risky behavior goes, it's still a tiny fraction of students. The survey showed about 3% of these kids said they had used one in the last 30 days. By contrast, 39% of students said they drank some amount of alcohol in the past 30 days, 22% binge drank and 24% rode with a driver who had been drinking.
The real problem is that 88% of adult smokers who smoke daily said they started when they were kids, according to the CDC. Kids who start down the path to using e-cigarettes may stick with them for life.”
I was personally concerned about this article concerning people under 18. When I began speaking to people about this issue they made very valid points. They had mentioned that parents they knew bought their own children vaporizers because the children had begun to smoke cigarettes. The parents thought that vaporizers were healthier and didn’t smell like cigarettes did. I knew that if vaporizers were around years ago my sister wouldn’t have had the almost 8 year + battle with cigarettes she would have simply started vaping. On the other hand if you as a parent condone vaping in place of smoking cigarettes does that only encourage them to keep using something that is against states laws for people under 18? My mom and dad didn’t condone smoking when I was younger and I smoked anyways but, I knew to keep it out of sight when I was around family. It kept me on my toes I guess. So, what do you think? I would love to hear more from this very controversial conversation! Go to our blog page and leave a comment or our Facebook Page!!
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