California Declares Vaping a Public Health Risk

Everywhere you turn these days you’re seeing a story about e-cigarettes and vaping. Are they safe? Are they “safer” than traditional cigarettes?  One thing’s for certain… Big Tobacco certainly sees them as the “next big thing”. And you know as well as a I do that means one thing… they’re profitable.

California health officials recently said that e-cigarettes represent a rising public-health risk that threaten to re-normalize smoking behavior and lure a new generation into nicotine addiction.  They went on to issue a public health advisory, urging the their residents to avoid or stop using e-cigs.

“As we have done with other important outbreaks or epidemics, we are taking this formal step of warning Californians about the health risks of e-cigarettes,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health.  He went on to say these products emit “A toxic aerosol, not a harmless water vapor.”

Many e-cig proponents will tell you that they’re safer because users are merely inhailing water vapor and that e-cigs will help tobacco smokers quit. Not true.

“There’s a growing amount of research that confirms that e-cigarettes are not safe and pose serious health risks for users, (to) those exposed second hand to the e-cigarette aerosol — and even (to) those who are merely within reach of e-liquid,” Chapman says.

A recent Monitoring the Future survey, which tracks substance-abuse trends among more 40,000 U.S. minors, found the use of e-cigs among teens has now surpassed the use of traditional cigarettes.

Read the original article here:
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/e-cig-stigma-california-declares-vaping-public-health-risk-n295766