A new vaping study has shown that kids who use e-cigarettes may be ingesting as much—or even more—nicotine than they would be by smoking traditional cigarettes.

E-cigarette usage, especially among children and young people, has been dramatically increasing in recent years. However, research and survey data has so far been relatively limited.

In this new study, which looked at 517 teenage volunteers, 36 percent of teens reported trying e-cigarettes, and 31.3 percent reported having tried marijuana. These numbers are much higher than the 13.9 percent who reported having smoked traditional cigarettes.

Hidden Nicotine

One of the truly disconcerting things about the e-cigarette levels of nicotine—according to NBC News, as high or even higher than traditional cigarettes—is that many kids don’t think e-cigarettes have any nicotine in them at all.

Indeed, researchers in this recent survey asked 284 of the volunteers to provide a urine sample. Among those who said they believed they were using nicotine-free e-cigarette products, a whopping 40 percent actually had significant nicotine levels in their urine.

While a survey commissioned by the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed that 25 percent of students who vape claim that they’re just vaping the flavoring, without nicotine, the deputy director of NIDA noted that the kids may be unaware of the nicotine content they’re inhaling—especially because the most popular e-cigarette product, JUUL, does not offer any flavors without nicotine.

Just as disconcerting is the rapid growth in e-cigarette usage among high school students. In a 2018 survey, 37 percent of seniors in high school reported having tried vaping, a sharp increase from 28 percent the previous year. A vaping study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed a 78 percent increase in vaping by high school students, and 3.6 million high school and middle school students using these e-cigarette products.

In response to this recent deluge of concerning data on e-cigarette usage in children, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. said that a priority is making sure these dramatic increases in e-cigarette usage stop. “And the bottom line is this: I will not allow a generation of children to become addicted to nicotine through e-cigarettes. We won’t let this pool of kids, a pool of future potential smokers, of future disease and death, to continue to build. We’ll take whatever action is necessary to stop these trends from continuing.”

Urban Myth: E-Cigarettes Are Harmless

For the first several years e-cigarettes were available, many young users thought they were only inhaling water vapor. To this day, many children and young adults refuse to believe e-cigarettes are harmful because they don’t contain tobacco.

Unfortunately, because most kids reportedly don’t believe anything harmful is in a JUUL or other e-cigarette, they don’t even realize they are becoming addicted due to nicotine. Some experts consider nicotine to be more addictive than heroin. Nicotine is a unique toxin because it acts as both a sedative and a stimulant in the human body.

The heart, hormones and gastrointestinal areas are most susceptible to nicotine’s harmful effects. The body receives a jolt upon exposure to nicotine, which stimulates the adrenal glands to release adrenaline, which in turn makes the body release glucose. This stimulation causes the heart to beat faster, breathing to become quicker, and blood pressure to rise.

At the same time, nicotine affects the parts of the brain that are responsible for pleasure and motivation, according to Medical News Today. Dopamine is the chemical in the brain that regulates movement, attention and emotional responses. A person feels more content when dopamine levels are higher, and nicotine causes dopamine to be released, much like heroin and cocaine do, too.

Once inhaled, nicotine reaches the brain within 20 seconds. Half of the nicotine is gone from the body in about two hours. The liver is responsible for breaking down nicotine, which has been linked to a variety of health risks, including blood clots, hardening of the arteries, disturbed sleep patterns, circulation problems, nausea, heartburn and extremely dry mouth.

Filing an E-Cigarette Lawsuit

If you are the parent of a teenager or child who has become addicted to nicotine because of using e-cigarettes, or who has suffered from nicotine poisoning or vaping-induced seizures, you may be able to join this class action lawsuit investigation. Major brands of e-cigarettes that are being targeted in this investigation are JUUL, Vuse, and Blu, but e-cigarettes manufactured by any company may qualify.

While filing a lawsuit cannot undo the damage caused by nicotine addiction or poisoning, it can at least help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses, as well as hold the responsible companies accountable for their actions.

Pursuing litigation can be stressful and overwhelming, but Top Class Actions has taken out some of the guesswork by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your compensation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.