Why the CDC Is Targeting E-Cigarettes

Why the CDC Is Targeting E-Cigarettes

The health risks of using electronic cigarettes—also known as vaping—is the subject of an anti-smoking ad campaign by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), featuring harrowing personal stories from ex-smokers.

One poster ad features an ex-smoker named “Kristy” who tried to use e-cigarettes as a substitute for tobacco cigarettes but ended up doing both, and in the end suffered a collapse of her right lung.

“These former smokers are helping save tens of thousands of lives by sharing their powerful stories of how smoking has affected them,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden.

An e-cigarette is a battery-powered vaporizer with a heating element that atomizes a liquid nicotine solution derived from tobacco plants.

E-cigarettes have been in vogue for the past few years, being touted as a healthier alternative to tobacco smoking and a way to wean off the habit. Vaping rates have reached record highs as traditional smoking continues to decline, and now high school students are more likely to vape than to smoke. (more…)

How Big Vaping is misinforming the public about e-cigarettes

http://www.vox.com/2015/3/28/8301923/e-cigarette-information

NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 12: A model backstage at Ohne Titel during MADE Fashion Week fall 2015 at Milk Studios on February 12, 2015, in New York City. (Photo by Mireya Acierto/Getty Images) Mireya Acierto/Getty Images

California is the newest case study in the e-cigarette information wars. On Sunday, California’s public health department went live with an awareness campaign about e-cigarettes on a new website, Still Blowing Smoke. By the time of their official launch on Monday, vaping advocates were already on the offensive with a nearly identical site: Not Blowing Smoke.

(more…)

E-cigarettes: Helping smokers quit, or fueling a new addiction?

E-cigarettes: Helping smokers quit, or fueling a new addiction?

By Meera Senthilingam, for CNN

Updated 6:37 AM ET, Mon March 23, 2015

(CNN)It’s a portable piece of technology providing seemingly bottomless access to a drug craved by more than 1 billion people worldwide — nicotine. That craving is caused by smoking tobacco but is now being increasingly satisfied by e-cigarettes and the trend to “vape” instead of smoke.

The selling point is the clean image e-cigarettes purvey by removing the simultaneous exposure to the tar and thousands of chemicals found in the tobacco smoke of regular cigarettes — removing the cause of lung diseases as well as other tobacco-related conditions.

Tobacco kills almost 6 million people each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and a growing number of people are now “vaping” instead of smoking, resulting in industry worth $2.7 billion worldwide. (more…)