Trendy, varied, fun … The e-cigarette enjoys a good reputation among its users, who often consider it an alternative to tobacco. It particularly appeals to adolescents who are three in four to think that it is less harmful than traditional cigarettes. A study published in the journal Pediatrics analyzed the results of the National Youth Tobacco Survey conducted between 2012 and 2014 among American adolescents. It reveals that the image they have of this product is better than for cigarettes, with 73% of them who consider it less harmful, and 47% who also believe it is less addictive. However, the e-cigarette contains nicotine, and sometimes in greater quantity than a conventional cigarette.
Heavy consumption among young people
Increasingly perceived by young people, the e-cigarette is now the most consumed tobacco product in this segment of the population. In comparison, chewing tobacco and cigars do not enjoy the same aura in young people. They are considered less harmful only by 20% and 26% of adolescents. These new uses are already of concern to the public authorities. The Food and Drug Administration, the American body that controls drugs and food, has recently considered e-cigarettes as a tobacco product, with new regulations as a result.
A risk of a strong comeback of cigarettes
The concern also weighs on the fashion effect of the e-cigarette. According to Stephen Amrock, of the Department of Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, USA, “It is tending to re-normalize smoking. The dangers come from the presence of nicotine, but also from longer-term consequences. Indeed, a child who uses an e-cigarette is more likely to start smoking later ”. These young people are also attracted by the different flavors offered, which are not exempt from dangerousness. Some chemicals used to create the taste are indeed toxic. For Erika Sward, president of the American Lung Association, “the e-cigarette represents a threat to all the work done to reduce the scourge of smoking”.
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