Vaping nicotine, or inhaling e-cigarettes, should be restricted like smoking regular cigarettes, California leaders said this week.
A report Wednesday from the state's Department of Public Health said decades of anti-smoking campaigns are at risk by the rapid rise of e-cigarette use, which presents a number of the same health risks as traditional tobacco.
The recommendations for more public education campaigns and restrictions came days after a state legislator introduced a bill to ban vaping in workplaces, schools, bars, restaurants, and other public places.
"No tobacco product should be exempt from California's smoke-free laws simply because it's sold in a modern or trendy disguise," said state Sen. Mark Leno, a Democrat from San Francisco. "Addiction is what's really being sold."
According to the health department's report, twice as many eighth- through 10th-graders used e-cigarettes versus traditional cigarettes in 2014. Among high school seniors, 17% said they used e-cigarettes and 14% used traditional cigarettes. The sweet flavors and lack of child-resistant caps on vapor cartridges also posed a risk to young children, who could be poisoned, health officials warned.
Without action, the report said tobacco use could become normalized again among young people.
"These data suggest that a new generation of young people will become addicted
to nicotine, accidental poisonings of children will continue, and involuntary exposure to secondhand aerosol emissions will impact the public's health if e-cigarette marketing, sales and use continue without restriction," the report stated.
The vapor emitted by e-cigarette devices still contains chemicals, the report continued, and nicotine itself posed health risks, particularly for young people. And despite claims, research hasn't shown that they help existing smokers quit.
"Research suggests that kids who may have otherwise never smoked cigarettes are now becoming addicted to nicotine through the use of e-cigarettes and other e-products," the report said.
Vaping remains largely unregulated, though a number of states have banned the sale of e-cigarettes and nicotine products to those under 18. North Dakota, New Jersey and Utah have banned e-cigarette use in places that are already smoke-free, and other states have banned vaping in daycares, schools, and hospitals.