Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, were originally created to provide cigarette users with a cleaner form of nicotine. However, in recent years, these and similar devices such as vapes have found a rapidly growing audience of users in teens and young adults who have never smoked before. Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, an expert in youth tobacco use and addiction, was not surprised to see vaping catch on with teens—with sleek designs, thousands of fun flavors to choose from, and a highly customizable user experience, this new way of smoking makes nicotine all the more appealing and addicting to the smartphone generation. As Suchitra puts it, “While trying to solve one huge public health problem—cigarette smoking—we may have created another colossal one.”
Our lack of vigilance around cigarette smoking in the early years led to a public health crisis, and Suchitra is determined to prevent us from repeating the same mistakes again with e-cigarettes. Tune in to her 2018 TEDMED Talk to learn more about why she is calling for more research, regulations, and public education around the health consequences of vaping.
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