E-cigarettes have been on the market since 2007. Vaping, is the most popular way youth consume nicotine in the US. Vaping devices are also known as e-cigarettes. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned sales of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products to people younger than 18 years in 2016. In 2019 the federal minimum age for all tobacco product sales, including e-cigarettes, was raised from 18 to 21.[1]
Most new users of e-cigarettes are adolescents who have never inhaled nicotine before.[1]
What is vaping?
Is vaping safe? Is vaping addictive? Safer than smoking?
Respiratory associations: A handful of studies have found associations between e-cigarette use and asthma, wheeze, or chronic bronchitic symptoms—chronic cough, phlegm, or bronchitis—among adolescents. [1]
e-Liquids, also called e-juice, typically include nicotine, propylene glycol, and flavors. The toxicity of e-liquid vapors remains poorly understood. Heating or combusting chemicals as part of a vape device raises questions about their potential toxicity. With the exception of nicotine, flavoring ingredients in e-liquids fall under the category of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA. But most chemicals on this list were intended for food consumption and have not been tested for their toxicity when inhaled. Their effect on lungs is therefore unknown. [1]
The long-term health implications of e-cigarette devices are unknown. Developing animal models of adolescent vaping could help answer these questions because enrolling minors in clinical vaping studies is difficult. In a study in Circulation by Wold, adolescent mice exposed to e-cigarette vapor exhibited cardiovascular dysfunction into adulthood. [1]
