Traditional tobacco smoking is on the decline. Reports show in the state of Florida there are more quitters than smokers. But, there is a new trend that some worry will get users hooked.
The days of the Marlboro man are long gone. But if it’s out with the old, it’s in with the new – electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are today’s nicotine alternatives to their tobacco ancestors. Electronic cigarettes don’t contain tobacco. Most of them deliver nicotine by turning liquid to gas. A user inhales that gas then exhales a white cloud.
With e-cigarettes it’s called “vaping” not smoking. But there’s still a connection between the two because e-cigarettes are drawing a market of traditional smokers.
Oswaldo Rodriguez is one of them. He spends more than $35 a week and smokes a pack a day. Now, he’s giving electronic cigarettes a try. They are reusable but the upfront cost for e-cigarettes is anywhere between $30 and $80.
“It’s nothing compared to the good things that will happen to myself", Rodriguez said. "And my life, I think it’s more than 100.”
Whether there are long term health risks is unclear. TJ Harrington heads the Tobacco Prevention Network of Florida.
“What are the effects? Nobody really knows", said Harrington. "And it’s kind of like the wild west out there.”
Electronic cigarettes really are a new “frontier” of uncharted terrain. That’s because very little is known about them. The FDA hasn’t issued any major reports on their effects. It doesn’t even regulate them.
Campaigning cowboys advertising Marlboros were snuffed out in 1971. But e-cigarette commercials have not been federally regulated. That has some people pretty fired up. Harrington worries about children being bombarded with attractive images of vaping.
“When you get a new product out people think they’re less harmful and not much is known about them and there’s a lot of confusion and misconceptions", warned Harrington. "You know, that’s going to attract youth.”
Youth. That’s exactly where the money is for the makers of electronic cigarettes. About 2 million kids in the United States are vaping. The concern is that e-cigarettes will create a new generation of nicotine addicts. Even e-cigarette salesmen don’t deny the potential risks.
Michael Caballero sells e-cigarettes at a vapor bar in South Miami. Dozens of these trendy shops are popping up all over South Florida.
“These still contain nicotine. Yes, nicotine in itself is not as harmful. It’s still a habit forming product", admitted Caballero. "It’s a product of a young generation, of the internet generation that uh uh found a way to get people off a harmful product.”
Caballero won’t sell products to minors. Still, it isn’t illegal for children under 18 to purchase e-cigarettes.
Florida lawmakers aren’t waiting for FDA reports or federal regulations. Senator Eleanor Sobel wants to keep teens from getting their hands on them.
“The first approach is to prevent our youth from uh using these e cigarettes until we know more about the long term effects”, said Sobel.
Sobel and several other senators are working to put e-cigarettes on the same legal footing as traditional cigarettes. Their suggestions will be reviewed in the upcoming legislative session.