A few weeks after the publication of a controversial study according to which the electronic cigarette is 5 to 15 times more carcinogenic than the classic cigarette, it is the turn of several experts, gathered at the conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science to reignite the debate.
E-cigarette use among young people tripled from 2011 to 2013, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. A worrying figure, considering that the adolescent brain is more likely to develop a nicotine addiction than that of adults.
Perceived as less harmful
“If teenagers who have never smoked tobacco take up e-cigarettes, this is of great concern as they are deliberately exposing themselves to nicotine, a potent addictive substance,” said Roy Harrison, professor of environmental health at the University of Birmingham.
The electronic cigarette would be all the more dangerous because it is perceived as less bad for health than the traditional cigarette, underlines the deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Wilson Compton.
The defenders of the e-cigarette point out that vaping is however less harmful for the brains of the young people and that they produce less dependence than the tobacco. Divergent opinions that do not help to decide for or against stricter regulation of e-cigarettes.
