SOURCE: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/opinion/columnists/2015/01/11/gilbert-ross-keep-cigs-accessible-adults-kids/21595869/

Should Electronic Cigarettes Be Permitted For Children?

Many health groups say that the distribution of electronic cigarettes should be limited to and only to adults. Yet for what reason? Teens that smoke cigarettes now could have the ability to switch over to a more safe alternative such as the e-cigarette, but public health groups view the e-cigarette as a “gateway” to smoking tobacco products.

If the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids are constantly attempting to ban the use of e-cigarettes, their efforts might as well be put aside because teens are still getting their hands on regular cigarettes that contain tobacco and filling their lungs with smoke. The desire of keeping e-cigarettes around is not the focus of political figures, yet rather to aid to these associations; at the same time, governors are also attempting to save the multi-million dollar business of cigarette markets.

Many proposals and bills include the “logic” of calling e-cigarettes as “non-tobacco” products and claiming that they will push teens and adults towards using regular cigarettes, which contain tobacco.

A federally funded study of national teen habits administered by the University of Michigan shows evidence that even though the use of e-cigarettes by teens has increased, the percentage of teens smoking cigarettes has fallen drastically. Not only have their numbers decreased, but the amount of teens that have stopped smoking cigarettes have declined much more than adult smoking. If getting teens to stop smoking sooner in life compared to struggling when an adult, e-cigarettes are really helping more than certain associations realize. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an association that is one of the most against e-cigarettes and vapor products, have shown the exact same pattern.

E-cigarettes are assisting in an escape from tobacco products, not towards them, as statistics have shown. People underestimate teens because they are not adults, but they still get curious and can get wrapped up in dangerous situations. Bills continuously call them “non-tobacco” products for an important reason: they do not contain tobacco or give off any smoke. Health groups still try to boycott them.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has the control of vetoing the bill, allowing e-cigarettes to be accessible to children, but could follow up further regulations in the future. This could include taxation to push adult smokers that want to quit smoking cigarettes have a difficult time deciding whether they want to pay the excessive cost of e-cigarettes. In hope, this could be avoided if those that consider themselves “health experts” would listen to the statistics rather their own opinions.