Recently, a commentary on the use of e-cigarettes by the World Health Organization deems any kind of e-cigarettes to be harmful. It also denies the previously held notion of e-cigarettes being a ‘safer’ or ‘healthier’ alternative to the conventional practice of smoking cigarettes.
In the past few months, there has been much debate about the rising populous of people choosing to use one of the various types of e-cigarettes available in the market with the belief of them not being egregious to health.
E-cigarettes originally came into the spotlight in August of 2019 when there were several cases of diseases and health conditions associated with the use of vapes. Another concern was that the majority of health complications following the use of e-cigarettes or vapes were reported in young adults.
Though many of the users of e-cigarettes are grown adults, a report from October 2019 showed teenagers and young adults formed a significant portion of e-cigarette users.
Following the diagnosed health complications, the use and selling of e-cigarettes were re-considered by various governments. As a result, the marketing or use of all types of e-cigarettes was banned in many parts of the world.
Flavored vapes were also banned recently in the state of New Jersey under the legislation Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in an effort to reduce its popularity and usage in the young adult population.
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However, there are still many supporters of e-cigarettes and vapes that claim that a ban on sales or other efforts to control its usage would only lead to an expansion in the black market as well as come in the way of adults trying to quit smoking cigarettes with the help of vapes.
The new series of questions and answers released by the World Health Organization states that the claim of e-cigarettes helping people quit smoking lacks concrete scientific evidence.
On the other hand, there is plenty of scientific proof about the dangers of using e-cigarettes. Although there is no research has not yet explored the long-term impact of using or being exposed to e-cigarettes, the short-term impact has been seen to be harmful.
The battery-powered e-cigarettes contain enough nicotine to make them as addictive as traditional cigarettes. The WHO had already warned about the use of e-cigarettes in young adults in the initial months of 2019.
The presence of high concentrations of nicotine can greatly damage brain development in young adults. In addition, exposure to fumes from e-cigarettes can be equally harmful to people and cause similar complications.
There is also an emphasis on how there is no guarantee that e-cigarette users are not using any other harmful substances. In fact, experts from WHO suggest that people who do use e-cigarettes are more likely to engage in smoking as well in the future.
Conclusively, health experts from the WHO as well as around the world currently do not advise the use of e-cigarettes for any purpose since they are not healthier than the usual cigarettes in any proven way. Their continued usage may cause lung and heart complications in the future.
