Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Electronic Cigarettes May Lead to Nicotine Addiction

2015; Oxford University Press; Volume: 107; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/jnci/djv070

1460-2105

Mike Fillon,

Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging

Are electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) a relatively harmless substitute for cigarettes?Or are they a Trojan horse leading to nicotine addiction and ultimately chronic smoking?Many researchers believe the latter.E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that deliver aerosolized nicotine and kid-friendly flavored additives, such as chocolate mint, piña colada, atomic fireball candy, and even gummy bears.Designed to mimic the look and habit of smoking, the devices are marketed as a relatively benign alternative to smoking, without the tar, carbon monoxide, and other harmful ingredients adversely affecting the heart and respiratory system."Vaping," the term for using e-cigarettes, emits only a cloud of vapor-not secondhand smoke.Many people are buying into the nonsmoking allure.E-cigarettes have quickly become a marketing marvel.In the U.S., sales escalated from 50,000 devices in 2008 to 3.5 million in 2012, fulfilling every marketing executive's dream to sell a product that customers return to repeatedly.And the younger customers start, the longer they keep buying.Most smokers begin when they're young.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, nearly 90% of U.S. adult smokers began smoking by the age of 18 years.These companies' pro-e-cigarette marketing strategy seems to work.In a national survey by CDC appearing in the November 28, 2014 issue of Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 4.5% of high school students said they had used e-cigarettes in the previous month, up from 1.5% in 2011 and 2.8% in 2012.