Electronic cigarettes also known as E Cigs were created to help smokers quit and reduce smoking. Reports show that 90% of smokers started smoking as teenagers. The latest trend among teens is ‘vaping’ or using electronic cigarettes. It is called vaping because of the vapor made by the electronic cigarettes.
Since electronic cigarettes don’t contain the same ingredients as cigarettes, teenagers do not categorize it as ‘smoking’. Experts worry that if they start using e cigarettes as teenagers, they will smoke regular cigarettes as adults. Although it is usually illegal for anyone under 18 years old to buy electronic cigarettes, there are still ways to have access to them. Some try to go into a store and hope that their I.D. doesn’t get checked. The not as brave ones try to order them off the internet. While others use adults to purchase their electronic cigarette merchandise.
Smoking and Teenagers
It is estimated that 1.78 million children and teens used electronic cigarettes last year. Lately it seems that electronic cigarette smokers are younger in age, catching the concern of lawmakers. They have started writing laws against selling e cigarettes to minors. Now over 25 states have banned the sale of e cigarettes to anyone under 18 years old. Lawmakers believe that allowing teens to use e cigarettes is dangerous. Their stance on regulating electronic cigarettes is supported by parents.
Nicotine Addiction
The fear is that teens will become addicted to the nicotine in the e cigarette and therefore become addicted to real cigarettes when they’re older.
Teens think they should be able to buy the electronic cigarettes because they do not have the factors that cause cancer in regular cigarettes.
Some shop owners have asked that minors be allowed to buy e cigarettes that do not contain nicotine. As of this date, no law has been written that would allow teens to buy electronic cigarettes without nicotine. So far all laws regarding this subject have banned the sale of ALL electronic cigarettes to minors.
E Liquid
E liquid nicotine comes in flavors like cotton candy, bubblegum, gummy bears, and milk chocolate.
Lawmakers and parents are concerned that these interesting and fun flavors may also contribute to teens wanting to smoke e cigarettes. Especially since real cigarettes haven’t come in flavors since 2009.
E cigarettes are supposed to help people quit smoking, But Lawmakers fear that they might have the opposite affect and will cause teens start smoking. If that happened, then in a few years we would have more smokers than we do now. Lawmakers want to stop this possibility now, by banning the sale of e cigarettes to minors. Half of the states in the United States ban the sale to minors, other states are expected to follow soon.
