E-cigarettes should Be Regulated to Protect Children and Adolescentsan e-Cigarette

E-cigarettes should Be Regulated to Protect Children and Adolescents
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Abstract
Children and adolescents continue to use e-cigarettes in large quantities. This is partly because of the increase in advertisements and the lack of knowledge concerning the health effects of the products. E-cigarettes have been associated with possible health issues such as lung damage and reducing the brain’s ability to develop. A child’s use of e-cigarettes can also result in the future use of tobacco cigarettes. A framework for e-cigarettes is most appropriate to reduce the health effects of e-cigarettes to children. The framework focuses on regulating the advertisement of e-cigarettes, by limiting such adverts on social media and other media sites. The framework also regulates the minimum age for purchasing, distributing and using e-cigarettes, and restricts the outdoor use of e-cigarettes in public places. The framework can be implemented through the support of the Food and Drug Administration, which can push for its implementation in the Senate. Effective implementation of this framework can help reduce e-cigarettes use among children and adolescents, hence reducing health risks.
Keywords: E-cigarettes, FDA, Regulatory Framework
E-cigarettes should Be Regulated to Protect Children and Adolescents
Adolescents are an important consideration in the heated debate over the use of electronic cigarettes. In many nations, the number of child and adult smokers has decreased mainly because of the control policies that have been set up in these countries (Petrescu, Vasiljevic, Pepper, Ribisl, & Marteau, 2017). Despite the decline in the number of youths experimenting with tobacco cigarettes, the experimentation with electronic cigarettes has become more common. In an experiment conducted in England in 2014, approximately 22 percent of children aged between the ages of 11 and 15 had experimented with e-cigarettes (Petrescu, Vasiljevic, Pepper, Ribisl, & Marteau, 2017). A study by Bauld et al. (2017) also shows that e-cigarettes use among the youth in the United Kingdom has increased from 7% in 2016 to 11% in 2017. A majority of children and adolescents who use e-cigarettes are unaware of the harmful effects of the product. It is, however, unclear whether the use of e-cigarettes can eventually result in tobacco smoking. Among tobacco smokers, the habit of using e-cigarettes is reported to be helpful in cutting down their use of cigarettes. This shows that with appropriate regulations, e-cigarettes can have the potential to contribute towards a tobacco-free community. However, despite its importance in minimizing tobacco use, the products should be regulated to prevent its use by children and the youth. This will involve government intervention to discourage adolescents and children from experimenting with the products, and limiting the risks to bystanders and users. A regulatory framework for electronic cigarettes should be put in place to reduce these risks while exploiting their potential to eliminate the health burden that is brought about by nicotine consumption.
Some factors have contributed to children experimenting with e-cigarettes. To begin with, it is commonly ass...