Vaping Is a Serious Health Threat to Our Youth

​Vaping Is the Next Generation of Nicotine Addiction

​There is always some concern about the health challenges we face. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes and smoking are important topics in this commentary. Advances and breakthroughs make us feel like we are making progress, and that the end is in sight. Any Santa Rosa health insurance broker can tell you that is not the case. Vaping is a perfect example of a significant new health threat.

In their current form, electronic cigarettes came on the scene as a tool to help smokers quit. With an e-cigarette, the smoker gets the nicotine without the lung-damaging tars. The device then weans the smoker from the nicotine by reducing the amount delivered. Eventually, the smoker is smoke-free.
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Vaping Suddenly Became Big Business

Tobacco cigarette manufacturers do everything possible to make their cigarettes more addictive. They use tobacco with the highest nicotine content. They added filters and menthol to make them more pleasurable.

E-cigarette manufacturers realized that they could make vaping fashionable. Unlike tobacco, it was an unregulated and untapped market.
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The Nicotine in E-Cigarettes Is Addictive

This is hardly breaking news. Everyone knows that nicotine is addictive. With e-cigarettes, the manufacturers carefully control the nicotine dosage. This determines the level of addiction they inflict. At least tobacco cigarette manufacturers could blame it on the potency of the plant.
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Vapers Inhale Harmful Chemicals With the Nicotine

Smoking e-cigarettes sounds safe. By not smoking tobacco cigarettes, you are avoiding the tars and toxic chemicals. Think again. Flavors and other chemicals enhance the smoking experience and are part of the vapor. They include:

• Diacetyl, a chemical linked to lung disease
• Benzene
• Heavy metals including tin, lead and nickel
• Ultrafine particles

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Vaping Has Negative Affects for the Young

Smoking and vaping are particularly worrisome when it comes to young people. The Surgeon General of the United States has concerns about vaping and its effect on the young. The nicotine negatively affects brain development and behavior.
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Nobody Saw This Threat Coming

E-cigarettes and vaping crept in under the regulatory radar. They became a booming business before the regulations caught up. Now, bringing the vaping industry into line is like trying to get the genie back in the bottle.

Here at Sackett & Associates Insurance Services we share the Surgeon General’s concern. Call us today at  707-823-3689. Let us know how we can help. Or, you can request a quote through our online form. You can sign up for our blog and stay up to date with health and insurance topics. We are also on LinkedIn and Facebook. If you have a chance, surf in and check us out. We appreciate it when people like us on social media.