Blowing smoke: e-devices hides dangers amid flashy design and alluring options

In just over a decade, public and health awareness campaigns steadily decreased the rate of American smokers to roughly 14%. While this should be lauded, it’s becoming white noise against the backdrop of increasing rates for electronic cigarettes and vaping. The Center for Disease Control and the National Institute for Drug Abuse note that while electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are less harmful than inhaling smoke, in no way should it be insinuated that they are non-toxic.

“ENDS are insidious — the harm to one’s health for the most part are not immediately obvious,” warns Dr. Rizwan Siwani, a pediatric provider at Olmsted Medical Center in Rochester. Containing chemicals such as antifreeze, diethylene glycol, and carcinogens long-term effects are largely unknown, but short term effects are staggering on their own.

“At low doses, it causes a stimulatory effect,” adds Siwani. Too much causes nicotine poisoning — nausea and vomiting, pallor, sweating, headache, dizziness, muscle tremors or seizures. After the stimulatory effect there is a later onset of depressive effects — decreased blood pressure, heart rate, slowed breathing, coma, weakness, and possibly respiratory failure.”

“The long term effects remain unknown, pending long term longitudinal studies, but we do know nicotine is highly addictive, affects brain development, and results in poor sleep quality, and shorter sleep duration.”

The devices go by a myriad of names and even more varied options. They can mimic the look of a traditional cigarette, a sleek pen or piece of tech, like a USB flash drive, and a host of everyday items, right down to the strings on the hood of a sweatshirt. Dubbed “e-cigs,” “vapes,” “e-hookahs,” and seemingly more every day, they exist in refillable, open systems, liked for their cheap cost, long-lasting battery, and wide array of flavors or pre-filled, closed-pod vapor systems, chosen for their portability.

The current drive is towards efficient, compact devices. Processed nicotine salt, as opposed to liquid, which is heated to vapor, is also trending, but it, too, harbors unseen concerns — namely higher nicotine concentration levels.

A major marketing hook is added flavorings, ranging from fruit and candy to chocolate or coffee and everything in between. The devices handily escape federal rulings on flavorings for traditional cigarettes, having debuted after lawsuit settlements and guidelines. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) calls this the “Flavor Trap.”

This particular trap draws an alarming number of youth to the devices and its appears to be a stepping stone to traditional tobacco products. Youth use increased 78% among high school students and 48% among middle school students in just one year, according to Federal Drug Administration data. Some 16% of high school seniors have used some sort of e-devices in the last 30 days — the rough equivalent of 10 in your small-town graduating class of 60 — and those statistics trickle right on down to those sixth grade, 12-year-olds.

Kingsland Superintendent James Hecimovich is also seeing the problem first-hand, as is every school district in the county. “It’s been around for a couple of years, but this year seems to be much worse. The stories I’m hearing from other students is frightening.  Students that I would have never expected have dabbled in vaping.” He believes the ability to conceal devices easily, and the flavorings currently marketed with youth in the crosshairs, are driving the trend.

Rushford-Peterson Middle/High School Principal Jake Timm discussed the same sentiments earlier this month during a Rushford City Council in which he encouraged the city to consider updating its 1997 tobacco ordinance to include ENDS. The discussion even touched upon the notion of “Tobacco 21,” a campaign increasing the age at which products can be purchased to 21. Rushford is expected to review a draft ordinance next month.

“Nicotine exerts effects on the central and autonomic nervous systems,” cautions Siwani. “I believe that the most important thing for adolescents and younger adults should know is that their brain is still developing and nicotine can affect that process. Nothing is more precious that your brain.”

“Brain development continues into the 20s. This is a vulnerable period. Nicotine exposure may produce long term changes in limbic function and lead to vulnerability to nicotine addiction, increased impulsivity, and mood disorders,” he adds.

“We should all be more aware of the greater cost on the community and population on the whole resulting from nicotine use.”