Electronic cigarettes, or e cigarettes, are battery powered devices that provide doses of nicotine and other additives to the user in an aerosol. Depending on the brand, e cigarette cartridges typically contain nicotine, a component to produce the aerosol (e.g., propylene glycol or glycerol), and flavorings (e.g., fruit, mint, or chocolate) (1). Potentially harmful constituents also have been documented in some e cigarette cartridges, including irritants, genotoxins, and animal carcinogens (1). E cigarettes that are not marketed for therapeutic purposes are currently unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and in most states there are no restrictions on the sale of e cigarettes to minors. Use of e cigarettes has increased among U.S. adult current and former smokers in recent years (2) however, the extent of use among youths is uncertain.
Data from the 2011 and 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), a school based, pencil and paper questionnaire given to U.S. middle school (grades 6 8) and high school (grades 9 12) students, were used to estimate the prevalence of ever and current ( 1 day in the past 30 days) use of e cigarettes, ever and current ( 1 day in the past 30 days) use of conventional cigarettes, and use of both. NYTS consists of a cross sectional, nationally representative sample of students in grades 6 12 from all 50 states and the District of Columbia (3).
During 2011 2012, among all students in grades 6 12, ever e cigarette use increased from 3.3% to 6.8% (p<0.05) (Figure) current e cigarette use increased from 1.1% to 2.1% (p<0.05), and current use of both e cigarettes and conventional cigarettes increased from 0.8% to 1.6% (p<0.05). In 2012, among ever e cigarette users, 9.3% reported never smoking conventional cigarettes among current e cigarette users, 76.3% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.
Among middle school students, ever e cigarette use increased from 1.4% to 2.7% during 2011 2012 (p<0.05) (Figure) current e cigarette use increased from 0.6% to 1.1% (p<0.05), and current use of both e cigarettes and conventional cigarettes increased from 0.3% to 0.7% (p<0.05). In 2012, among middle school ever e cigarette users, 20.3% reported never smoking conventional cigarettes among middle school current e cigarette users, 61.1% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.
Among high school students, ever e cigarette use increased from 4.7% to 10.0% during 2011 2012 (p<0.05) (Figure) current e cigarette use increased from 1.5% to 2.8% (p<0.05), and current use of both e cigarettes and conventional cigarettes increased from 1.2% to 2.2% (p<0.05). In 2012, among high school ever e cigarette users, 7.2% reported never smoking conventional cigarettes among high school current e cigarette users, 80.5% reported current conventional cigarette smoking.
E cigarette experimentation and recent use doubled among U.S. middle and high school students during 2011 2012, resulting in an estimated 1.78 million students having ever used e cigarettes as of 2012. Moreover, in 2012, an estimated 160,000 students who reported ever using e cigarettes had never used conventional cigarettes. This is a serious concern because the overall impact of e cigarette use on public health remains uncertain. In youths, concerns include the potential negative impact of nicotine on adolescent brain development (4), as well as the risk for nicotine addiction and initiation of the use of conventional cigarettes or other tobacco products.
CDC and the Food and Drug Administration will continue to explore ways to increase surveillance and research on e cigarettes. Given the rapid increase in use and youths’ susceptibility to social and environmental influences to use tobacco, developing strategies to prevent marketing, sales, and use of e cigarettes among youths is critical.
Reported by
Catherine Corey, MSPH, Baoguang Wang, MD, Sarah E. Johnson, PhD, Benjamin Apelberg, PhD, Corinne Husten, MD, Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration. Brian A. King, PhD, Tim A. McAfee, MD, Rebecca Bunnell, PhD, Ren A. Arrazola, MPH, Shanta R. Dube, PhD, Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC. Corresponding contributor Brian A. King, baking , 770 488 5107.
References
- Cobb NK, Byron MJ, Abrams DB, Shields PG. Novel nicotine delivery systems and public health the rise of the “e cigarette.” Am J Public Health 2010 100 2340 2.
- King BA, Alam S, Promoff G, Arrazola R, Dube SR. Awareness and ever use of electronic cigarettes among U.S. adults, 2010 2011. Nicotine Tob Res 2013 15 1623 7.
- CDC. National Youth Tobacco Survey. Atlanta, GA US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC 2013. Available at
- Dwyer JB, McQuown SC, Leslie FM. The dynamic effects of nicotine on the developing brain. Pharmacol Ther 2009 122 125 39.
Chicago bans indoor electronic cigarette smoking – chicago tribune
Emanuel has made tobacco regulations a recent focus, working to frame the discussion over cigarette sales as a question of how willing elected officials are to protect children from getting lured into addiction at a young age.
At the last City Council meeting, aldermen voted to restrict sales of menthol cigarettes near Chicago schools. Emanuel delivered a short speech from the dais positioning himself as a bulwark against the evils of Big Tobacco. Emanuel also increased the city s cigarette tax as part of his 2014 budget.
On Wednesday, the mayor used the passage of the e cigarette regulations as a chance to again lay out his anti tobacco bona fides, saying Chicago can t wait for the Food and Drug Administration to take a position on the safety of the products.
“Having worked with the FDA, having encouraged them to take steps to protect individuals and children, they are usually an agency that leads from behind,” Emanuel said. “And when it comes to the city of Chicago, when it comes to the people of the city of Chicago, when it comes to the children of the city of Chicago, I do not believe we should wait.”
But Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, a smoker, continued to oppose the indoor ban on e cigarettes. Reilly, who said he s using e cigarettes to help himself quit, likened e cigarettes to needle exchanges for heroin addicts and said they help reduce the harm smokers suffer by offering a product safer than conventional smokes. “We re talking about treating two different products like they re one, like they re combustible cigarettes,” Reilly said.
And Ald. Rey Colon, 35th, said he resents how people who oppose greater restrictions on e smoking have been accused of not having children s best interests at heart. “I hate to keep using, I keep thinking of that movie My Cousin Vinnie the youths, the youths. We keep using the children as an excuse to pass any ordinance we want to pass, because who can deny the children?” Colon said.
In other action Aldermen approved $13.8 million in lawsuit settlements. Nanny Jennifer Anton was pushing a stroller carrying a 20 month old girl and shoved the child out of harm’s way before drunken city worker Dwight Washington crashed his city pickup truck into a crowd on a Gold Coast sidewalk. Anton will receive $7.4 million for severe injuries she suffered in the May 2011 incident. Separately, Larry Gillard will get nearly $6.4 million for a wrongful conviction in a 1981 rape case.
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