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Teen Vaping: CDC Study Shows Flavors Are Not the Cause

Teen Vaping: CDC Study Shows Flavors Are Not the Cause

Teen Vaping: CDC Study Shows Flavors Are Not the Cause

Teen Vaping: CDC Study Shows Flavors Are Not the Cause
May 12, 2021

Back in 2019, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducted a study to find out exactly what attracted teenagers to vaping. Prior to the study, there had been much hype from different groups that placed the blame directly on the different flavors of vaping cartridges.

However, after the CDC published the results of the study, new light was shed on the exact reasons why teenagers were attracted to vaping. To the surprise of many, flavors were not the top reason.

Why Teens Are Attracted to Vaping

When teens were asked by the CDC what attracted them to vaping, most responded it was curiosity about vaping, not the availability of flavors. Roughly only 22% of respondents said that they wanted to try vaping because they could vape using different flavors like chocolate, cotton candy, fruity flavors, and bubblegum.

The top five reasons teens gave for wanting to try vaping were:

  • 56.1% of respondents were curious about vaping.
  • 23.9% of respondents said friends or family members vaped.
  • 22.3% of teens said they tried vaping because they could get cartridges in different flavors.
  • 22.0% of teens said they were attracted to vaping because they could do tricks with the vapor smoke.
  • 17.2% of respondents said that vaping was less harmful than smoking cigarettes.

Why All the Hype Then?

Also, in 2019, there was an increase in e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), which result in a multi-state outbreak and thousands of hospitalizations and over 50 deaths. This was during the same time, vaping among teens was seeing a significant increase, which some health experts were calling an epidemic.

The outbreak in EVALI was related to teen vaping with much of the blame tied directly to the flavored cartridges by so-called concerned groups. Furthermore, these concerned groups that included parents, health officials, and state and federal government agencies automatically assumed e-cigarette marketing practices were being used to market various flavors of e-juice at teenagers.

Additionally, they went on to say e-cigarette marketing made vaping appear to be fashionable and sexy just to entice teens. Sadly, no one from any of the groups bothered to take the time to ask teens what attracted them to vaping and why they vaped.

The groups instead, theorized the causes and projected those theories onto others to fit their agenda to get flavored cartridges banned.

What Happened Next?

Thanks to these groups’ agenda, they pressured the Trump administration to have the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) place a ban on flavored e-juice cartridges, except for those that came in tobacco and menthol flavors, commonly found with cigarettes.

Next, Washington, Utah, and Rhode Island implemented temporary bans on flavored cartridges. All three of these states and five other states then introduced legislation to ban e-juice cartridge flavors including Michigan, New York, Oregon, Montana, and Massachusetts.

While all of this was going on, the CDC was researching the actual causes for the EVALI outbreak. What the CDC discovered had nothing to do with teen vaping or flavored cartridges. The CDC determined the outbreak was due to vitamin E acetate in vaping e-juice products.

Vitamin E acetate is a synthetic form of vitamin E. It is commonly found in dietary supplements, skin lotions, and other such products. It is not harmful when applied topically or digested as part of a supplement. However, it was not designed to be vaped.

At the time, vaping cartridge manufacturers were using vitamin E acetate as a thickening agent in various vaping e-juice products. The CDC study discovered that inhaling vitamin E acetate could impair lung functioning and therefore, was the cause of the EVALI outbreak.

No Comment from Concerned Groups

Even after releasing the results of why teens were attracted to vaping and the cause of the EVALI outbreak, none of the concerned groups, including health and government officials have made any comments. Rather, they have gone silent on the matter after making a big deal about how flavored e-juice was to blame for attracting teens to vaping and causing an increase in teen vaping.

Now that the CDC has presented evidence, these groups do not want to talk about it. As you can see, the assumption that teens were attracted to vaping due to the variety of flavors was flawed and the data obtained by the CDC supports this.

Are All Flavors Banned?

The FDA ban only targeted the pre-mixed e-juice cartridges. For vapers that use open tank systems, they can still purchase flavored e-juices besides menthol and tobacco flavors. The FDA’s reasoning was that teens do not want to take the time to learn how to use an open tank vaping system.

Why Flavors Matter for Adults

Adults like to have a choice of options when vaping. One important reason flavors matter for adults is when they are attempting to quick smoking cigarettes. Having access to flavored e-juices makes quitting smoking and transitioning to vaping a more enjoyable experience.

Limiting flavors to just tobacco and menthol could potentially cause a reverse shift with former smokers returning to cigarettes that are full of dangerous chemicals.

What This Means for Adult Canadian Vapers

Unfortunately, many of the same so-called concerned groups here in Canada, have also made the same assumption that flavored cartridges are the main reason teens are attracted to vaping. So, they too are seeking bans on flavored vaping products.

Several provinces have placed bans on flavors, while others have implemented new restrictions, like only being able to buy flavors from an authorized vaping shop. Health Canada is also in the process of working with the federal government to develop new legislation that would ban flavors nationwide.

What Health Canada and the federal government fail to recognize is that by limited flavored vaping products they will be sending countless vapers back to smoking tobacco cigarettes. Nor have they taken the time to review the CDC findings regarding teen vaping use and flavors.

If you enjoy vaping and the freedom of choosing your flavors, you need to let your voice be heard by contacting your MP.

To find electronic cigarettes, vaping devices, and e-juices, shop the trusted source, Wicks & Wires Vape Shop online or contact us at 905-597-8273 today! 

 

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/ss/ss6812a1.htm#T6_down

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html



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