E-Cigarettes, Important Information for Parents

As the use and interest in e-cigarettes and vaporizers increases, it is important for parents to learn about these products and talk about their use with young people. 

Below is a letter from the Surgeon General. This is a good place to start educating yourself. In addition, I recommend the CDC Youth and Tobacco Use Fact page: /https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/: 

E-cigarettes and the Surgeon General Report Dec 2016

On December 8, 2016,  U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy published a report on an emerging public health threat affecting our country. E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General is the 33rd Surgeon General’s report in 53 years to address the impact of tobacco on health. It is the first to focus on e-cigarettes.  

This report confirms that there is no acceptable level of nicotine when it comes to our kids. It notes that e-cigarettes are often a delivery system for nicotine, a highly addictive substance that can harm the developing brain. The report also confirms that the aerosol from e-cigarettes is not harmless. It can contain chemicals and particulates that are dangerous to the person using these products (“vaping”) and to anyone who may inhale that aerosol second-hand. 

The Surgeon General’s report is available at E-cigarettes.SurgeonGeneral.gov. There you will also find tools for parents and a brand new Public Service Announcement from Dr. Murthy. Please help us promote this important publication by sharing it with your networks. We would also appreciate your help getting the word out on social media, using the hashtag #NoEcigs4Kids in your posts. 

Like previous reports of the Surgeon General, this one discusses the marketing techniques to glamorize e-cigarettes. The Surgeon General calls on the industry to stop advertising practices which encourage young people to try these products. Our children are not an experiment, and we know enough about the risks of e-cigarettes to take action to protect them. 

To mark the release of this report, the Office of the Surgeon General and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health will host a live press conference today at 9:30 am EST.  You can watch the livestream at www.hhs.gov/live. 

We must never wait to prevent harm, especially when it comes to our kids. Together, we can protect America’s youth from the harms of e-cigarettes. When we know better, we must do better.