Electronic cigarettes: a brief update on their consumption by adolescents and their effects on health

Abstract

Most tobacco product use begins during adolescence and tobacco products have evolved to include various products such as e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes are very attractive among youth mainly because of the availability of flavors, exposure to tobacco product marketing, curiosity, and misperceptions about their safety or low health impact compared to the harm caused by conventional cigarette use.
Associations have been found between e-cigarette use and subsequent use of conventional cigarettes in adolescents, and a strong association between these devices and subsequent use of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs is also described.
Regulation of electronic nicotine delivery systems varies significantly among countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that governments create regulations to prevent non-smokers from starting to use these products, to prevent smoking from becoming normalized again in society, and to protect future generations.