The consumption of non-traditional tobacco products among teens has increased in the last two years..
A recent report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) says that U.S. teenagers are experimenting with electronic cigarettes and hookahs more as compared to regular cigarettes. The report is based on a survey conducted on more than 24000 middle and high school students in the U.S.
According to the records by CDCP, the consumption of E-cigarettes has doubled in 2012(1.1 percent) among middle school students thanthe previous year, (0.6 percent-2011). A similar trend was also noticed among the high school students. The usage of E-cigarettes showed an upward curve in 2012(2.8 percent) from 1.5 percent in 2011 among the high school students. The demand for hookah was nearly similar to that of E-cigarettes with 1.3 percent hike over a year.
At the same time an increase of 5 percent was noticed in the demand for cigars among the black high school students. The consumption increased from 11.7 percent to 16.7 percent over a span of a year (2011-2012).
Researchers say they could not arrive at any specific cause for the rise in the usage of non-traditional or flavored tobacco products among teenagers. They believe that the demand for E-cigarettes and such might have gone up because of the misconception that they are safer alternatives to tobacco and regular cigarettes s. The greater availability of these goods also adds to the increase in demand.
Some teenagers seem to like the flavored tobacco products offered in little cigars. They can be bought singly and are available in a variety of flavors, which add to their popularity.
According to the health practitioners, the flavored cigars and hookahs are in no way better compared to regular cigarettes. In fact, they are equally harmful containing nearly the same amount of nicotine, affecting brain development.
"A large portion of kids who use tobacco are smoking products other than cigarettes, including cigars and hookahs, which are similarly dangerous," said Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, reports Yahoo. "We need to apply the same strategies that work to prevent and reduce cigarette use among our youth to these new and emerging products."
Cigarettes have been already banned in public schools and CDCP wants stringent laws to be imposed in order to forbid electronic cigarettes and hookahs as well.
