E-cigarettes Part II: Further Analysis of Pros and Cons and Contradictory Information
A recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine conducted research on children in grades 6 through 12 to determine young people’s opinions about e-cigarettes in comparison to their opinions about traditional cigarettes. As the figure below shows, the study found that of the 49.2 percent of students who knew about e-cigarettes, a whopping 30.6 percent felt that e-cigarettes were less harmful than traditional cigarettes (B. K. Ambrose et al., 2014). Furthermore, only 2.9 percent of these children believed that e-cigarettes were more harmful that traditional cigarettes. Therefore, many children who are aware of what e-cigarettes are disproportionately believe that e-cigarettes are safer than traditional cigarettes, which may increase the likelihood that they would try them.
Harm perceptions in children grades 6-12 overall and by cigarette smoking status (measured in percent of total children in the study)
On the other hand, a study published in the Tobacco Control journal states that “Older brands were significantly more likely to claim that their products were healthier than conventional cigarettes than were newer brands (80.1% vs 59.1%). The top-5 brands were most likely to make that claim (100%)” (S. Zhu et al., 2014). This shows that as time passes, brands of e-cigarette liquids are becoming less likely to make uncertain and potentially inaccurate claims about the benefits of using e-cigarettes.
Furthermore, a study conducted by E. Kralikova et al. shows that “Among regular users of ECs, 60% of those who provided the data…reported that ECs enabled them to reduce their consumption of conventional cigarettes” (E. Kralikova et al., 2013). This information can be taken one of two ways: on one hand it means that many people lean on e-cigarettes as a presumably safer or healthier alternative even though they can be equally harmful, but on the other, e-cigarettes are proving successful at helping people quit (or at least reduce) smoking traditional cigarettes.
While an article previously used in Writing Assignment #1 stated that e-cigarettes produce far fewer harmful emissions such as VOCs, carbonyls, and glycols than traditional cigarettes, an article published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health counters this claim. The study found that “The concentration of putative carcinogenic PAH in indoor air increased by 20% to 147 ng/m3, and aluminum showed a 2.4-fold increase” (W. Schober et al., 2014). Moreover, “The nicotine content of the liquids varied and was 1.2-fold higher than claimed by the manufacturer” (W. Schober et al., 2014). This study shows that not only do e-cigarettes liquids contain a plentiful amount of harmful compounds, but their nicotine contents are also inaccurately labeled due to lack of governmental regulation and knowledge. This can lead to greater chances of people becoming addicted to e-liquids, even thought they choose low or zero nicotine options.
While many e-liquids may be labeled with inaccurate nicotine contents, a study published by the Society for the Study of Addiction potentially contradicts this evidence. The study “analyzed 20 models of 10 of the most popular brands of refill liquids, using gas and liquid chromatography” and found that “The nicotine content in the bottles corresponded closely to the labels on the bottles…neither ethylene glycol nor diethylene glycol were detected” (J. Etter et al., 2013). Therefore, although some brands have inaccurately labeled nicotine contents, it is likely that the better and more popular brands are more accurate and honest in their labeling and chemical make up.
Works Cited
Ambrose BK, Rostron BL, Johnson SE, et al. Perceptions of the Relative Harm of Cigarettes and E-cigarettes Among U.S. Youth. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Vol 47, p S53-S60. 2014.
Etter J, Zäther E, Svensson S. Analysis of refill liquids for electronic cigarettes. Society for the Study of Addiction. Vol 108, p 1671-1679. 2013.
Kralikova E, Novak J, West O, et al. Do e-Cigarettes Have the Potential to Compete With Conventional Cigarettes?: A Survey of Conventional Cigarette Smokers’ Experiences With e-Cigarettes. Chest Journal. Vol 144, p 1609-1614. 2013.
Schober W, Szendrei K, Matzen W, et al. Use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) impairs indoor air quality and increases FeNO levels of e-cigarette consumers. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. Vol 217, p 628-637. 2014.
Zhu SH, Sun JY, Bonnevie E, et al. Four hundred and sixty brands of e-cigarettes and counting: implications for product regulation. Tobacco Control. Vol 23, p iii3-iii9. 2014.
