USA today article on vaping

[Sthur]

Teens and vaping.... Hopefully we don't get a bad name for ourselves.

http:// www. usatoday. com/story/news/ nation/2013/09/05/e-cigarette-use-doubles-among-us-teens/2768155/

E-cigarette use doubles among U.S. teens

any thoughts?

 

[SpaceAce]

I started smoking analogs at 12, e cigs would have saved me from that horror way back when. Kids will get their hands on what they want one way or another.

By the way, did you know 90% of statistics are made up?

 

[Talyon]

This was just covered on NBC.

Most journalists, reporters alike always take the path of least resistance these days.

Shame they don't take a good hard look at Vapeing.

 

[second2none]

Funny thing is these same concerns have been around for decades about smoking. It's like sex if kids want to try it they will find a way.

 

[Butters78]

"This indicates that e-cigarettes could be a gateway to nicotine addiction and use of other tobacco products," says Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for tobacco-Free Kids.

Matt Myers is a ..........

 

[pinkcloud]

I just find this very strange. The initial cost for a teenager would seem to be beyond their means when they can grab a "ciggie" from a friend. Just doesn't make sense.

 

[EddardinWinter]

Damn lazy journalism. No effort to contact a friend of the industry at all.

They get statements from from BT! Sheesh. A real hatchet job there...

 

[bosun]

This was just covered on NBC.

Most journalists, reporters alike always take the path of least resistance these days.

Shame they don't take a good hard look at Vapeing.

"It's a danger to the kids". Interviewed a 16 year old who vaped. He was using a 'light saber' mod. Big silver one. I'm still using cig-alikes so I have vape envy! Makes me wonder if it was 'staged' not that the media would do such a thing (snicker). They also mentioned how many kids tried e-cigs. Didn't mention how many kids also tried alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, and sex. I'm sure those numbers would have been higher! Of course they mentioned 'candy' flavors, how there is no legitamate studies done on dangers of vaping.
Not an unexpected article!

 

[CaliforniaGirl]

The funny/odd thing to me is that, to take an example, nobody ever seems to think about alcohol in this way. Now THAT can hurt you (and other people). Especially if you're young and feel nothing (or very little) can harm you. Though all stimulants potentially could have a negative impact on growth in teens, I have yet to hear of a person going careening off on a high-speed getaway weaving in and out of lanes and killing passengers in other cars because he had vaped all night.

Nobody ever says (or hasn't said, since the 30s), "If kids see adults using alcohol, and if alcohol is sold readily in stores, what about the kids?" Or, well...they do, but they sure shootin' don't go trying to ban alcohol over it. (Not that this article specifically pointed to banning or FDA regulation unless I missed it, but I think we all know what this "it's sooooooooo dangerous" stuff is leading.)

Let's weigh things:

Alcohol, which makes you unaware of where your didgits end, drive in other people's lanes, either overly love or brutally fight some stranger you just met and jump into a pool from the roof...v. e-cigs...which give you a caffeine-type stimulation.

Hmmm.

Now I'm not saying that it's great if kids get a hold of nicotine. But really? Nicotine is the biggest and scariest thing that can happen to a person's body? V. alcohol, Mom's Vicodin, etc.? And what. It's better that they just sneak Daddy's analogs and be exposed to the bajillion terrifying chemicals in those rather than vaping? Because you know what...like it or not, kids *will* experiment. We can try to curb that (and we should). We can try to regulate that, with age limits for example (and we should). But nicotine isn't going anywhere for now so in the grand scheme, which would you rather? That your child light up his lungs with carcinogens, or sneak a puff off your vape?

I'm not sure about vapes being a "gateway" to analogs...analogs taste like poo and don't deliver any more punch than vapes. I can see beer being a "gateway" to hard liquor in search of a bigger buz. Or some drugs being a "gateway" to stronger drugs. But...there aren't "stronger" (higher nicotine) analogs than the strongest vapes, AFAIK. I suppose I could be wrong about that.

Sorry for the soapbox.

 

[Joeyjoe]

Saying e-cig use has DOUBLED among teens sounds alot scarier than what the actual facts are...

2.8% of teens actually used an e-cig in the last 30 days according to the CDC study.

Oh no..folks..lock your kids up..it's an epidemic!

 

[tj99959]

I swiped my first cigarette from my dad when I was nine years old. That would have been 1949/50. I never once had a problem getting cigarettes while I was growing up. If e-cigs had been the norm back then, hell, I'd have made the fanciest wood box mod in shop class that you have ever seen.

Sorry but the horses have already left the barn, it will do no good to shut the door now. There isn't a thing about an e-cig that a kid can't make for themselves.

What they didn't happen to mention is that general e-cig use during that same time period quadrupled. So the fact that under age use only doubled is a good thing.
Wonder if anyone noticed that 2.8% less kids are smoking because they are vaping instead.

 

[CaliforniaGirl]

I swiped my first cigarette from my dad when I was nine years old. That would have been 1949/50. I never once had a problem getting cigarettes while I was growing up. If e-cigs had been the norm back then, hell, I'd have made the fanciest wood box mod in shop class that you have ever seen.

Sorry but the horses have already left the barn, it will do no good to shut the door now. There isn't a thing about an e-cig that a kid can't make for themselves.

You might have, but then again, cigs are very, very addictive, not essentially due to the nicotine itself (apparently), which is addictive but nowhere NEAR as instantaneously so without all the many additives. but rather due to the nicotine in combination with the ka-POW of additives designed to enhance and increase, as well as dramatically speed up, nicotine delivery to the brain. (As well as non-nicotine additives that are themselves addicting.)

So the likelihood of a kid being able to afford, and have access to (despite age regulations), a regular enough supply of vapes for long enough to become that severely addicted to them, is relatively low. Or...lower.

This is partly just my opinion, and partly research I've done on the addictive properties of both nicotine and cigarette additives. Cigarettes are made to be addictive, they are made to directly, immediately and rather stunningly impact the brain. Plain nicotine is not.

I suppose it could happen but I just don't see this as being as easy and large a potential problem (vapes being a gateway to analogs) as sensationalistic journalism would like it to be. Could it be a problem at all? Sure. Many of us will wind up addicted to something in our lives, that can't really be disputed.

 

[josie wales]

I'd like to see some perspective from these stories. CBS said "have tried". How many "have tried" cigarettes? How many are using a vapor device to kick analogs? It's obviously the beginnings of scaring the public and demonizing so when yet another freedom is under siege, everyone will think it's for the common good. Then of course they are free regulate and tax at will.

Sorry for the rant. I'm pretty fed up with everything government these days. Anyone hear about the Chinese chicken BS?? Argh.

 

[BigBen2k]

Too bad the FL survey didn't bother to check if these kid's e-cigs had any nicotine in them.

 

[Bob Chill]

I'm exponentially more worried about the increase in ......... and pill use going on. Not to mention the newly named "molly". I have 4 children. Let ME worry about them. Vaping is quite low on my list of things to worry about.

One or more of my kids may have unfortunately inherited my faulty wiring too. If they take up vaping and like it I will be more relieved than concerned. Liberty and freedom is like sand through an egg timer nowadays. It's embarassing honestly.

 

[josie wales]

Too bad the FL survey didn't bother to check if these kid's e-cigs had any nicotine in them.

It doesn't matter.....SAVE THE CHILDREN!

 

[legaldisaster]

I knew this would happen sooner or later. I bet the guy who did, or wrote, the piece had no idea you can get it without nicotine. Their fight is with smoke clouds, not having kids blowing vapor clouds everywhere. Not many people can tell the difference between the two. Alot of people see smoke as a bad thing, and don't want their kids associated with it. Plain and simple. I don't think they can do anything about the ages of kids experimenting with e-cigs, kids will be kids, people need to learn how to deal with it.

 

[CaliforniaGirl]

I knew this would happen sooner or later. I bet the guy who did, or wrote, the piece had no idea you can get it without nicotine. Their fight is with smoke clouds, not having kids blowing vapor clouds everywhere. Not many people can tell the difference between the two. Alot of people see smoke as a bad thing, and don't want their kids associated with it. Plain and simple. I don't think they can do anything about the ages of kids experimenting with e-cigs, kids will be kids, people need to learn how to deal with it.

Exactly. We parents need to be parents, and that's that. This is definitely not the only "experimental" issue most parents will have to deal with before their 18 years of legal tenure are up and all our gray hairs are in from the stress. If we could have the government take away anything that our kids could try that we might not want them to, we'd all be sitting in chairs staring at the wall.

The list is pretty much endless...where DID I put that Miss Clairol, anyway?

 

[retired1]

People need to start checking the Media and General News forum. Seriously. Moving this there and closing.