infonews.co.nz
INDEX
NEWS

Vaping may help reduce the growing number of young adult smokers

Thursday 19 August 2021, 5:27AM

By Premium SEO NZ

857 views

NAPIER

It’s hard to imagine that there once was a time when cigarette smoking was not only highly popular but even believed to have health benefits. Ever-increasing data supports that smoking can lead to a wide range of health risks, including the development of various cancers, heart disease, and asthma. And while the cigarette has seen a metamorphosis over the years – from being seen as a simple pleasure for the everyman to a necessary accessory for anyone questioning the status quo – the currently strict prohibitions on advertising, high levels of taxation, and growing opinion that smoking is ‘uncool’ has led to a sharp decline in cigarette consumption over the past few decades.

It’s of some concern, then, that the generations most educated on the risks of smoking (Millennials and older Gen-Zs) are seeing an increase in smokers. Indeed, two separate US-based studies from 2018 and 2019, respectively, have indicated that while cigarette smoking as a whole has decreased significantly, the age of introduction to smoking has increased, with the early-20s demographic showing a slightly higher cigarette consumption rate than other age groups. For many years, it was assumed that by preventing pre-teens and teenagers from smoking, it would ensure that they would not attempt smoking as adults. Instead, the recent data indicate that perhaps this approach has only delayed introduction to smoking rather than prevented the practice outright.

Despite the noted increase of smokers in this demographic, a sharp overall resurgence remains unlikely. For those already addicted to cigarettes, there are, thankfully options to help them quit, including vapes, gum, and patches. Of these, vaping appears to provide smokers with the best opportunity for success, since they can easily and systematically decrease the amounts of nicotine in the vape juices while simultaneously relieving some of the stress associated with no longer undertaking the physical action of smoking.