Young kids are becoming addicted to nicotine thanks to e-cigarettes with some of those vapouring being as young as 11 years, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open journal.
School-age children as young as 11 years are vaping in the US
According to Massachusetts General Hospital for Children researchers, some school-age smokers can vape within five minutes of waking up each morning, making these vapes more addictive than actual cigarettes.
The behaviour is attributed to “nicotine salts” or “protonated nicotine,” a milder, more pleasant addictive chemical.
Corresponding author Jonathan Winickoff said that the changes detected in the survey could reflect addiction liability and high nicotine delivery levels. According to a recent government report, over 2.6 million children in the US are using e-cigarettes. Researchers added that e-cigarettes use protonated nicotine, making it easier to inhale.
The researchers report that between 2014 and 2012, the age at initiation of e-cigarette use dropped with addiction and intensity of use increasing. Surprisingly by 2019, most users using their first nicotine product were smoking within five minutes of waking relative to cigarette uses and other tobacco products.
These results indicate that more control is required, including complete prohibitions on the distribution of flavoured nicotine products. In addition, physicians must be prepared to confront juvenile addiction to such new, extremely addictive tobacco products over many clinical visits.
Juul Labs’s introduction of e-cigarettes has attracted more teens to smoke.
Previously e-cigarettes didn’t deliver nicotine efficiently as cigarettes since it was difficult to inhale delivered freebase nicotine. However, things changed in 2015 after Jull Labs introduced e-cigarettes. It added benzoic acid to the nicotine e-liquid to lower pH and create protonated nicotine.
The start-up found it more efficient to captivate users with first use through the adjustment. Unfortunately, this has reversed the US’s long-term youth tobacco use decline by attracting more teens at low risk of commencing nicotine use with usual cigarettes.
Study authors recommend that doctors inquire about patients’ use of tobacco and nicotine-based products for all their patients.
