Throughout the school year the administration has noticed a growing trend among students — the use of an electronic cigarette or e-cigs.
“I don’t like e-cigs,” sophomore Lilly Clark said. “I think they are disgusting and that it’s just a gateway to drugs or cigarettes. I know that a lot of kids at Vista use e-cigs, and I am completely against them.”
Electronic cigarettes commonly referred to as e-cigs were first invented in 1963 by Herbert Gilbert, when he was addressing his addiction to cigarettes. An e-cig is a cigarette-shaped device containing a nicotine-based liquid that is vaporized and inhaled. E-cigs are used to simulate the experience of smoking tobacco. The product went on the market in 2003 when Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik manufactured them.
“It’s a little stupid,” sophomore Holden Wegner said. “It’s just a fad that people pick up.”
Even though e-cigs do not have harmful tars like regular cigarettes they can contain harmful chemicals like diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical used in antifreeze. Medical physicians can not for sure say that e-cigs are healthy or do not cause cancer. They may however increase the risk of getting heart disease, stroke and other health issues. Doctors and scientists do not yet know the long term side effects of what can happen when you breathe the vapor into your lungs regularly. It’s too soon to tell. A preliminary analysis of e-cig cartridges by the FDA in 2009 identified that some contain tobacco specific nitrosamines known cancer causing agents.
Electronic cigarettes were made to help people stop smoking. The American Association of Public Health Physicians views e-cigs as similar to nicotine replacement therapy and recommend them as a harm reduction method for those who have failed to quit by any other means.
“Kids our age should not be using them,” Clark said. “People in high school should not be using drugs or even something as ‘harmless’ as e-cigs. I mean, why would you want to anyways? It’s just nasty.”
There are no age restrictions on e-cigs since they don’t follow regular tobacco rules since they are not a tobacco product.
“I think people our age can use e-cigs with limitations,” Wegner said. “It’s better than some things out there but at the same time it’s not the smartest thing to do.”
Although some people can stop smoking using this step down program, it’s not without it’s own harmful side effects.
“People’s reasons depend on the person,” Wegner said. “Some use it to stop smoking, others use it to be cool.”