E-cigarettes declared a health threat by California health officials

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

The California Department of Public Health has released a report that declares e-cigarettes a health threat that contributes to the emission of cancer-causing chemicals and addiction to nicotine.

“E-cigarettes are not as harmful as conventional cigarettes, but e-cigarettes are not harmless,” said California Health Officer Ron Chapman. He believes that younger generations will become addicted to nicotine if e-cigarettes continue to remain unregulated.

Approximately 17 percent of high school seniors had reported using e-cigarettes in the last year, according to the report. Although California has banned the sale of e-cigarettes to minors as of 2010, reports of children under 5 with e-cigarette poisoning jumped from seven in 2012 to 154 just last year.

However, such concerns have been met with criticism from the American Vaping Association, an advocacy group for e-cigarettes.

“Despite the health officer’s false claims, there is ample evidence that ‘vaping’ helps smokers quit and is far less hazardous than smoking,” said Gregory Conley, president of the AVA.

Although Chapman has not taken an open position on any specific legislation, he plans to roll out an e-cigarette awareness campaign that could potentially include television and radio advertisements.