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E-Cigs

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The Role of E-cigarettes In Our Community
Although they might be slightly more effective than nicotine patches and other aids in helping people quit smoking, electronic cigarettes still stand as a gateway to nicotine addiction. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggests more children and teens from middle school to high school are trying these new devices. About 1.8 million children admitted puffing on an e-cigarette with 160,000 of them doing so with never having tried an ordinary cigarette before. These implications mean electronic cigarettes have been getting a lot of attention lately from the community. The CDC indicates this trend as a serious concern.
E-cigarettes came to the U.S. market in about …show more content…

An increasing number of physicians and scientists agree that e-cigarettes are a healthier alternative, and they say these products could end a major health problem. The Royal College of Physicians say, "Electronic cigarettes and other nicotine-containing devices offer massive potential to improve public health, by providing smokers with a much safer alternative to tobacco" (Jen Christensen, sec. 4).
In the United States, manufacturers of e-cigarettes are under no law to inform people what they are actually inhaling. The unclear is one of the many traits of e-cigarettes that the American Lung Association does not like. In 2009, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) test on a small number of e-cigarette samples found "detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals to which users could potentially be exposed" (Jen Christensen, sec. 3). They found diethylene glycol in one cartridge at a 1% level, this being an ingredient used in antifreeze which can be toxic to humans in large quantities. After the study, the FDA banned the sale of e-cigarettes, warning e-cigarette smokers that they were inhaling toxic and harmful chemicals. However, in 2010, a court ruled that the FDA had cited no evidence to show that electronic cigarettes harmed anyone, and stores could go on selling them, becoming increasingly popular each day.
Most scientists believe nicotine alone, being very addictive, is not what causes cancer for smokers or for the

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