it's the e-cig apocalypse! and i'm gonna bereal -- i have a very bad feeling about it, right in here. hello friends, laci green here for dnews.is it me or was it practically overnight that it went from people smoking cigarettes tosucking on those little tubes that look like ink pens? in the past couple years, electroniccigarettes have shot up to a multi billion dollar industry. it happened so fast, governmentofficials are like ahhhhhh what is this wizardry and how do we regulate it? meanwhile, minorscan buy e-cigs legally in many states, they're being given away as free samples online, andthe companies are actively marketing themselves as a "tobacco free alternative to cigarettes"that will "help you quit". okkkkk. this is
my skeptical face, guys. while all the legal junk is worked out, it'sup to scientists to take a good hard look at these newfangled devices. last week, thelargest major review of the research on e-cigs was published in the american heart association'sscientific journal. they found that the claims of the e-cig manufacturers are...not supportedby the data. one of the big claims that came under fire was that e-cigs will help you quit...orat least smoke less. the scientists found, based on 5 population-based studies, thatthose who used e-cigs to quit were actually significantly less likely to be successful,by about 30%. and that's probably related to....claim #2that was kicked to the curb: that it's a safe
alternative that only releases pure nicotineand water vapor. in their research, the scientists found formaldehyde, propylene glycol, andlead amongst other well-known toxins in the vapor. sound familiar? it's just...like...cigarettes!uc san francisco's tobacco research center stated that "e-cigs do not deliver pure nicotineand harmless water vapor". it may not have tobacco in it, but the e-cigs are still deliveringthe same carcinogens that are known to cause chronic disease and cancer. and the secondhand vapor is emitting it as well. then there's there's the most disturbing partof the study to me. a growing number of middle and high schoolers report having tried e-cigsinstead of cigarettes, and the number of teen users more than doubled to almost 2 millionfrom 2011 to 2012. it's even more now in 2014,
which is a concern given that 90% of lifetimenicotine addiction begins in the teen years. the e-cig industry seems to be intentionallytargeting teens--they use cool marketing with colors and candy flavors, they sponsor youth-drivenevents like rock concerts all the while claiming that they're harmless. some teens in the studiesdidn't even know that it contains nicotine, even though they may be able to buy them.let's be real: this industry's goal is to sell a product and develop lifelong buyers,and if they are allowed to sell addictive substances with misleading claims, then theywill....and personally, i don't think they should be able to. but i want to know whatyou guys think. tell me your thoughts about e-cigs down below and i'll catch you nexttime on dnews!