OHIO — Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show e-cigarette sales are sharply on the rise. In December, 2022, e-cigarette sales were 46.6% higher than they were in January, 2020. Dr. Loren Wold from Ohio State University believes their availability and popularity are big factors for the jump.
“These products are still available at the local convenient store, and new products are coming out all the time and so as people begin to become users and their friends will see that they’re using so it has a compounding affect,” he said.
Lawmakers at the Ohio Statehouse have been trying to implement new legislation that would ban flavored e-cigarettes. But there’s some debate on well it would be able to be enforced. The governor’s office said cracking down on sales would be a huge win, and Wold agreed.
“Until we can really crack down on number one the sales of these and making these devices so that they can’t, that users can’t use their own liquids to add to them, etc. as well as really enforcing policy for these products, we’re going to, I believe, see a rise in their use,” he said.
The long-term impacts of smoking e-cigarettes are unknown, but Wold said that the short-term effects are known.
“The short-term effects can be elevations in heart rate, blood pressure and we’re just now starting to appreciate with the study I mentioned that the American Heart came out with showing in a cohort of 2,500 youth that 60% plus self-reported depression and anxiety,” he said.
Wold suggested smokers should use smoking cessation groups or other resources to help quit.
