Titles like “cream milkshake,” “cherry crush,” and “peppermint party” are no longer just creative names for candies, but flavors of electronic cigarettes, contributing to growing concerns that the products are marketed towards young people and are becoming gateways to regular cigarettes.
Although tobacco use among teens has been decreasing since the mid-1990s, the numbers are rising for e-cigarettes. A recent poll conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 10 percent of high school students surveyed tried e-cigarettes last year, which is almost double from the 4.7 percent in 2011.
They were invented by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik in the 1990s, but have recently received more attention from in the media with their growth in popularity and photos of celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio using them.
Sophomore Haley Gustafson said that she first heard about them while she was shopping.
“They’re in the mall making them look so cool and they have videos of ‘cool’ people smoking,” she said.
Although similar to regular cigarettes in appearance, e-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that do not use tobacco. Instead, they heat up liquid nicotine until it becomes a vapor for the smoker to inhale and exhale. E-cigarettes were originally intended to be used as a an aid in quitting or as a healthier alternative to smoking.
While e-cigarettes have been proven to be an effective way of quitting smoking and are believed by many to be healthier alternative to regular cigarettes, there has been very little research done on them.
A Foothill alumni, who smokes e-cigarettes daily, feels that they’re healthier than tobacco cigarettes.
“I just know when I use them, I feel much better than with regular cigarettes. There’s a big difference in my breathing. I don’t notice it as much at night when I’m trying to sleep,” he said. “I don’t like the nasty feeling I get [from smoking regular cigarettes]. It’s kind of like being sick all the time […] just imagine all that without a runny nose.”
He first tried smoking when he was 14 with regular cigarettes.
“My friend made me. He said I wasn’t allowed to hang out there if I didn’t try them,” he said.
He later switched to e-cigarettes because he didn’t like the side effects and smoke of regular cigarettes. Now, he prefers them, and uses them almost exclusively.
“They’re getting way more popular. I know a lot of people who smoke them,” he said. “They’re more accepted because they’re more healthy and they don’t smell as bad.”
In the long run, durable e-cigarettes are also cheaper than tobacco cigarettes. A pack of regular cigarettes costs around six dollars in most states, while long-lasting e-cigarettes cost about one-hundred dollars.
“They last about a week,” said Foothill’s alumni. “If I bought a disposable one that cost five to eight dollars and it lasted me a week, that would be better than if I was smoking, like, a pack a day or every two days.”
E-cigarettes are becoming more and more popular and most stores are now carrying them. In the United States, retail sale of e-cigarettes reached $500 million in 2012.
Since e-cigarettes are not regulated by the FDA, the manufacturers are not required by law to tell consumers what is in the product. Due to their growing popularity and traces of toxic chemicals that have been found in some e-cigarette brands, there has been more pressure on the FDA and other health associations to monitor them more closely.
The majority of states are either undecided or in the process of passing a proposition to regulate e-cigarettes. In California, they can’t be purchased by anyone under 18, but in 20 states, there are currently no restrictions for minors.
Even though there is no tobacco in e-cigarettes, health teacher Anthony Unchangco said that addictive substances like nicotine can still have a negative effect on teens.
“Any type of substance will affect an individual during their development stages, so you know, it’s vital that someone does not affect that growth spurt, or that process,” he said.
Due to the FDA’s lack of federal regulation, many states are attempting to adopt their own restrictions on e-cigarettes. Several states are in the process of passing a proposal that bans the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, California included. In most states, ID cards are required to purchase e-cigarettes. However, they can also be sold online.
While regular cigarettes are included in the California health curriculum, e-cigarettes are not. Unchangco hopes that will change.
“I think that it should be part of the health curriculum because i think that all aspects need to be covered- drug use, drug overuse, drug prevention, community resources for individuals who are trying to help themselves become better people,” he said.
