Essay Example on Is E-Cigarette Smoking as Harmful as Tobacco?

Introduction

In the recent past, there has been a new model of smoking, commonly known as e-cigarette smoking. The method is different from the conventional one since users of this product only inhale and exhales aerosols. The elimination of smoke from tobacco has made companies like JUUL to claim that the product is safer. Many people suggest that e-cigarette is an excellent way of making perennial smokers quit their habit. This paper critically analyses if e-cigarette is as harmful as a tobacco cigarette taking the case of the United States.

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Briefly Define the Claim and Its Counter Argument

The introduction of e-cigarettes into the market has seen growth in marketing campaigns stating that they are safer than using a burning cigarette. Many people believe that due to the less harmful effect of e-cigarette, it can help smokers to quit cigarette addiction. In a world where smoking possesses an unacceptable and dangerous habit, e-cigarettes can be a decent way of breaking free of tobacco. However, current research claims that lab tests have found traces of nicotine in e-cigarettes hence raising worries since this chemical is harmful to the body. According to the CDC, the majority of people who use an e-cigarette intending to quit conventional smoking are young adults (2020). The nicotine affects the development of fetuses and the brain of young people below the age of 25 (CDC, 2020). It can, therefore, become concluded that e-cigarettes are not safe for human consumption.

Furthermore, most of the cigarettes addicts find themselves combining e-cigarettes with conventional cigarettes. The practice of using both forms of cigarettes is known as dual usage - hence, the allegations that e-cigarettes help perennial smokers to quit is erroneous. Thus, substituting tobacco cigarettes with e-cigarettes does more harm than good, as they have several disadvantages that cannot become neglected quickly. Moreover, there is no conclusive research that affirms that e-cigarettes assist perennial smokers in quitting their habit

Who Are Some Of The People And Sources Making The Claim?

The traces of nicotine found in e-cigarette has made the CDC claim that e-cigarettes are not safe for human consumption (2020). The application mainly applies to young people and pregnant women. The Food and Drug Administration is another body that has claimed that e-cigarettes are not healthy to our bodies (NIH, 2019). The National Institute of Health, NIH claim that soft particles from e-cigarettes cause lung cancer, and few statistics support the allegation (2019). The Food and Drug Administration is working together with CDC to investigate the course of the diseases. The claims are contrary to manufactures' assurances, which states that the product has no nicotine chemical. Some of the investigations also show that the e-cigarette packaging tool can facilitate the smoking of marijuana (NIH, 2019).

Furthermore, the NIH funded research concluded that e-cigarette aerosols have the potential of making the genetic make of an individual to be altered. As a result, individuals with changed genetic makeup might end up contracting cancer. The mice used in the research got exposed to e-cigarettes aerosols - ended up getting bladder and lung cancer. The researchers of the NIH are making claims that the chemicals could result in mutations that would cause lung cancer in human beings. Mensah notes that, even though the studies of mice are not synonymous with the health of humans, the study appears to endorse the study of e-cigarettes and human health (2019).

What Are The Interested Parties For This Claim?

The number one interested parties for the claims are JUUL e-cigarette Company and the FDA. The FDA regulators have been making claims that JUUL has not yet provided evidence that e-cigarettes are less toxic as compared to tobacco cigarettes and has been misleading the teenagers and the youth (Roth, 2019). FDA has condemned JUUL for using scientifically unsubstantiated proof to market e-cigarettes as tobacco products as safe - and by suggesting that they are secure and hazard-free methods to help in stopping smoking. FDA states that no marketer can make the claims not unless the FDA body has scrutinized the products and agreed that the organization has sufficient and accurate proof to back up the safety of their products. FDA has prompted JUUL to provide data regarding the marketing strategies that they have in place for the youth and the use of nicotine (Roth, 2019). The FDA intends to ban the trade of all flavored e-cigarettes.

What Types Of Information Has Gets Transmitted About This Claim?

According to the CDC, young people in high school have started using the e-cigarette, which is exposing them to tobacco cigarettes and other drugs (2020). The FDA has regulated the manufacture, labeling, packaging, sale, promotion, and distribution of e-cigarettes, including the parts and the components of the e-cigarette. The effort is supposed to protect youth and minors from e-cigarette smoking. Young people who use e-cigarettes face the risk of the long-time effects where the development of the brain will be affected.

Furthermore, several claims suggest that perennial smokers use both e-cigarette and tobacco cigarettes hence making it hard for them to quit smoking. Information from the FDA recommends that resorting to e-cigarette is not the most effective way of quitting cigarette smoking. Another controversial information surrounding e-cigarette smoking is that - it is more harmful, especially in situations where perennial smokers opt to shift to it completely. Studies show that nicotine causes the brain to become dependent on it; thus, e-cigarettes smokers develop the risk of getting addicted to other types of drugs. Moreover, the chemical particles found in aerosols of e-cigarettes expose the lungs to cancer risks. Allegations suggest that the vapor from the e-cigarettes has toxic substances and carcinogens together with hazardous metal from the device (NIH, 2019).

Does The Claim Conflict With Your Observations And Background Information?

When I did my background check on e-cigarettes, I discovered the claims are entirely contrary to the information I found. The available data shows that e-cigarette has far lesser carcinogens as compared to conventional cigarettes. Regular cigarettes have numerous harmful chemicals produced by smoke and tobacco. Even though there is second hand- smoke from e-cigarettes, the effects are far less toxic when compared to the hazardous effects of the smoke from the cigarettes on the non-users. While e-cigarettes have the same sensation and experience for the smokers, they do not have the bad odor and smell exhibited by the tobacco cigarettes.

What Rhetoric And Fallacies Ensue Concerning This Claim?

There is a lot of misinformation about the dangers of using e-cigarettes. There has not been a single proof that a single person has been affected by the e-cigarettes but just mere speculations. The only people who have been concerned by e-cigarettes are those who combine marijuana with the e-cigarettes. The truth is that the use of vapor technology by the e-cigarettes exposes the users to lesser carcinogens when compared to the traditional cigarettes. The other fallacy is that e-cigarettes are likely to introduce many more people to other forms of smoking, which is a lie as the product intends to help people stop smoking traditional cigarettes.

Are There Any Scientific Findings Of This Claim?

The Food and Drug Administration notes that the e-cigarette industry is not regulated and that they have not approved the use of the products. The biggest worry raised by the FDA is because of insufficient research and evidence of the negative impacts of e-cigarettes on human health. As a result, over 150 states in the United States have banned the use of the e-cigarette.

What Are The Best Ways To Assess The Probabilities Of This Claim?

The only way to ascertain the claims made against e-cigarettes is to conduct extensive research both on the users and the product. The study ought to include a systematic review of the current clinical and laboratory results on the threats of using e-cigarettes - against the well-known effects of smoking tobacco cigarettes. Additionally, another method is to develop an e-cigarette control and warnings text with the application of a multistep process. The participants in the study would be current users of e-cigarettes.

What are your conclusions about your claim?

The users of e-cigarettes usually inhale the aerosols from the product the exhale it out. As compared to an e-cigarette, tobacco cigarettes are far much dangerous as compared to e-cigarettes because of the high amount of nicotine content. Thus, several groups such as JUUL e-cigarette Company has been championing for the products claiming it is safer. However, several lab tests prove that there are traces of nicotine found in e-cigarettes, which is still dangerous to human health. The CDC and FDA suggest that extensive research needs to happen before the products get approved.

Clinical and survey data have been misinterpreted by tobacco regulators like the FDA and other health authorities in such a manner that there has been a lot of exaggeration and fallacies regarding the potential risk of e-cigarette smoking. However, if research ends up suggesting that e-cigarette is safer, the product will help save the lives of many people around the world. Additionally, the government will also end up saving a substantial amount of money budgeted for chronic diseases emanating from smoking. From the above argument and observation, it gets observed that although e-cigarettes have a minimal amount of nicotine, it is as harmful as the tobacco cigarette.

References

CDC. (2020, February 24). About Electronic Cigarettes (E-Cigarettes). Retrieved May 16, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/about-e-cigarettes.html

Mensah, P. K. (2019). E-Cigarettes and the Danger They Pose to Society. American Journal of Public Health, 109(11), E26-E26.

NIH. (2019). Electronic Cigarettes (E-cigarettes). National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/electronic-cigarettes-e-cigarettes

Roth, J. M. (2019). A preliminary study of the effects of (-)-nicotine on axonal outgrowth in Gallus sympathetic neurons.