Smoking and vaping
Abstract
This paper analyses the current knowledge on smoking and vaping, and in specific it focuses on the users' knowledge and beliefs, health effects, and prevention efforts. The Department of Health and Human service (HHS) reports that smoking is the leading cause of preventable mortality. Despite the fact that the smoking epidemic is a public health threat, adolescents and adults continue to smoke cigarettes. However, the majority has shifted to vaping which is the recent product innovation in the market. Users are convinced that vaping or e-cigarettes is less harmful and it helps one to quit smoking. The paper discusses this issue using credible sources that conducted qualitative research and systematic reviews that have a high level of evidence. The research articles find that today, the use of e-cigarette has increased dramatically and the high use has resulted in public health problems. The articles note the manufacturing industry are using the strategy of convincing the users that e-cigarette will help smokers quit but this is a controversial perspective since there is no evidence. Recent studies have found that e-cigarettes have chemicals that can cause respiratory toxicity, affect adolescent brain development, among other long-term effects. Focusing on the implications, the authors emphasize the need to carefully understand the users' knowledge and beliefs in order to communicate the harm they pose. In addition, there is scientific uncertainty concerning the vaping long-term effects but the policymakers should use the available imperfect information to prevent the unintended consequences.
Introduction
According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, 2018), cigarette smoke causes terrible diseases such as lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases. It is important to understand that not only smoking but also exposure to secondhand smoke also cause diseases in both adults and children. There are many chemicals in cigarette and these chemicals cause smoke irritation such as shortness of breath, nasal congestion, sinus infections, among other problems (NIEHS, 2018). NIEHS also states that smokers in the U.S and worldwide have replaced the traditional cigarette with e-cigarettes since it is easier to get, it has flavors, and they believe that e-cigarette is less harmful. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has found that in the U.S, deaths that occur due to smoking on an annual basis is 480,000 (Kenkel, 473). Despite the fact that the public is warned about the dangers of the products, 40 million adults smoke cigarettes and the market for electronic cigarettes is growing rapidly. Some authors have found that in the 1990s, British adolescents used recreational drugs such as cannabis and tobacco but later there was a denormalisation of smoking. However, the smokers shifted from tobacco smoking to electronic cigarettes and today, young people rely on electronic nicotine delivery systems (Kenkel, 474). Generally, young people and adults enjoy smoking and nicotine addiction, not through the use of traditional cigarettes but through the use of new electronic devices in which the users heat a liquid and the heat connects with a nicotine solution to produce vapor. Users inhale the vapor and they end up developing vaping behaviors.
Current status of knowledge
Recent studies have found that today, vaping is the recent product that has been innovated in the tobacco and nicotine markets. Commercial tobacco production dates back in 1880 and by 1950s, the rate of tobacco consumption was high (Kenkel, 473). However, the combustible cigarettes were associated with lung cancer and consumers demanded safer tobacco products. To meet the customers' needs, the profit-maximizing manufacturers developed filtered cigarettes and the market share grew rapidly. However, despite the innovations, people continued to suffer from smoking-related illnesses. Researchers have found that today, there is a new innovation of tobacco products known as ‘vaping' which does not contain combustion but vapers inhale nicotine (Kenkel, 473). There is scientific evidence that vaping is less harmful and adolescents will stay away from combustible cigarettes and thus they may discontinue smoking. However, the current status of knowledge states that there is scientific evidence that vaping is associated with health consequences in that high concentrations of nicotine affect the brain development of adolescents and it also affects the fetal health during pregnancy (Kenkel, 473). Even though vaping has low risks compared to smoking, long-term use of electronic cigarettes is harmful. Current knowledge of smoking and vaping have confirmed that from the randomized clinical trials (RCTs) there is evidence that vaping might help smokers quit. A data derived from the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) in 2014 showed that e-cigarettes use is infrequent. In other words, vapers do not use e-cigarettes daily compared to smoking.
Measham et al (224) assert that there is a diversification in the tobacco and nicotine market due to the development of an electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS). For example, the total number of e-cigarette users in Britain is 2.6 million Recent research has found that e-cigarette prevents second-hand inhalation by bystanders, it helps the users quite from using traditional cigarettes, it is less harmful and it reduce the risk of nicotine dependency (Measham et al, 224).The article gives a report on a research project conducted in 2014 concerning the smoking-related attitudes in order to understand whether smoking, which is now a debatable issue in the political arena will be normalised, denormalised, or renormalised.The results showed that out of 3568 respondents, 85% used e-cigarette and since they never smoked traditional cigarettes, they were omitted from the survey population. Respondents also affirmed that they used e-cigarette as a method of quitting smoking (Measham et al, 229). Focusing on the normalization debate, the public health policy focus on cigarette demoralisation but the major challenge is that the innovation of the new delivery system has raised more debate on normalisation. However, the study does not address whether the e-cigarette will lead to renormalisation and for this reason, there should be longitudinal studies to generate evidence. However, the current knowledge derived from this study is that users of cigarettes and e-cigarettes have different appeals in that young adults prefer e-cigarettes due to its flavor combination (Measham et al, 229). Thus, social and policy implications should consider various factors such as the effect of smoking on individual and public health.
Selekman (12) adds that the survey on Youth Risk Behavior shows that adolescents who use cigarettes are few in that by 1991, the percent was 70% and in 2017 the percentage was 28%. However, this does not mean that adolescents do not engage in risk behaviors. In 2018, the same survey reported that 13.2% were using e-cigarettes. This is an indication that today, the majority of adolescents and adults use e-cigarettes using different battery-operated devices such as vape, e-hookahs, Juuls, among other brands (Selekman, 12). E-cigarettes have four parts which are; a reservoir, a mouthpiece, an atomizer, and a power source. The liquid solution contains nicotine and it is combined with flavorings such as strawberry, mango, clove, and others and other toxic increase the risk of cancer. The manufacturers add flavorings as a market strategy and the majority of young adults purchase the product due to the liquid flavors. The current status of knowledge states that the manufacturers believe that the flavors are harmless but since they are not orally ingested, it means that when they are inhaled, they may cause lung toxicity though there is no evidence (Selekman, 13). In the market, the sellers convince the buyers that e-cigarettes are safe since they do not contain tar. However, they contain almost the same amount of nicotine that is in a pack of cigarettes. As a result, vaping of nicotine affects the prefrontal cortex activity, it affects concentration and memory, the flavoring chemicals impair lung function, and the vapor causes airways irritations. It is also important to understand that the heating process releases metals such as lead and manganese which can cause damage in the lung tissue (Selekman, 13). The article asserts that the pediatric nurses should be in the forefront to implement interventions through asking the users questions concerning the history of using e-cigarettes, ask whether the vapers have the willing to quite, provide brief intervention, and provide follow up.
Conclusion
The research articles have confirmed that the use of e-cigarette in worldwide has increased dramatically. The companies in the markets convince the vapers that e-cigarettes are harmless and they will aid in quitting smoking. However, recent studies say that e-cigarettes contain almost the same amount of nicotine that is found in a pack of cigarettes. It is important to understand that e-cigarettes are associated with health risks in that the ingredients may cause lung damage and the nicotine may affect brain development. Since smoking and vaping is a community-wide issue, the local community, the health department, and the police department should join hands in creating smoking and vaping policies and improve the health of the community members. The authors recommend that in future research, it is important to employ quantitative techniques and use large samples in order to understand why adolescents and adults prefer vaping. It is also important to integrate ethnographic approach to understand how different cultures are impacted by vaping practices.
Work cited
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: Your Environment. Your Health. December 28, 2018 Retrieved from: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/allergens/smoke/index.cfm
Kenkel, Donald S. “Healthy Innovation: Vaping, Smoking, and Public Policy.” Journal of Policy Analysis &
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Measham, Fiona, et al. “‘Skittles & Red Bull Is My Favourite Flavour’: E-Cigarettes, Smoking, Vaping and
the Changing Landscape of Nicotine Consumption amongst British Teenagers – Implications for
the Normalisation Debate.” Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, vol. 23, no. 3, June
2016, pp. 224–237. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/09687637.2016.1178708.
Selekman, Janice. “Vaping: It’s All a Smokescreen.” Pediatric Nursing, vol. 45, no. 1, Jan. 2019, pp. 12–
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