Nearly 70% of United States Youth See Advertisements for E-cigarettes

E-cigarettes deliver nicotine by heating a flavored liquid that is inhaled by the user. Almost seven in 10 US school kids are exposed to e-cigarette ads which promote the battery-powered vaping devices using themes of rebellion, sex and independence, revealed US health authorities.

Unrestricted marketing of e-cigarettes has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in the number of vaping youths, raising concerns about health dangers and a new generation of people addicted to nicotine, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

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‘Unrestricted marketing of e-cigarettes has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in the number of vaping youths, raising concerns about health dangers and a new generation of people addicted to nicotine.’

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From 2011 to 2014, current e-cigarette use among high school students went from 1.5% to 13.4%, the CDC said.

Among middle school students, users went from 0.6% to 3.9% in the same time span.

In 2014, e-cigarettes became more commonly used among youth than any other tobacco product, including cigarettes.

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"The same advertising tactics the tobacco industry used years ago to get kids addicted to nicotine are now being used to entice a new generation of young people to use e-cigarettes. I hope all can agree that kids should not use e-cigarettes," said CDC director Tom Frieden.

More than 18 million middle and high school students see e-cigarette ads, according to the CDC Vital Signs report.

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The data came from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which showed that 68.9% of middle and high school students see e-cigarettes ads from one or more media sources.

More than half (55%) saw ads in retail stores, while 40% saw them online and 37% saw them on TV or in movies.

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30% of youths said they saw the ads in newspapers and magazines.

"Research has shown that nicotine exposure at a young age may cause lasting harm to brain development, promote addiction, and lead to sustained tobacco use," the CDC said.

The report also said that spending on e-cigarette advertising rose from $6.4 million in 2011 to about $115 million in 2014.

Source-AFP