2) Category of Problem: Health
3) Level of Problem: National
4) The article concerns: E-cigarettes will become a path to smoking among young people who otherwise would not have.
5) Why is this important to individuals/families, or how does this affect individuals/families?
The use of E-cigarettes doubling among minors is important to individual/families because rather than preventing minors from smoking traditional cigarettes, studies are showing that they are in fact, becoming more popular among teens who have never smoked before. These Blue cigarettes were invented as a healthy alternative, when in fact research has shown that effects of using the E-cigarette is not clear, causing health concerns for teens and young adults. Consumers are not being informed properly of the actual effects of the product that is being advertised as a "healthy alternative."
6) What are your views on the issue/policy?
The whole Idea behind the E-cigarette has never made much sense to me just based on the advertising of the product. They deliver nicotine though an aerosol in a vaporized form, therefore they do not produce second hand smoke. My understanding is that they are still cigarettes and still harm your body. Although Blu cigarettes may be a "healthy alternative" to smoking, the article seems to address the fact that people are starting to rethink how healthy this product claims to be, and are starting to become more concerned for their children's health. In 2012, 1.8 million middle and high students claimed to have tried e-cigarettes, and 1 in 5 of these students claimed they had never smoked before using Blu. The E-cigarette seems to have become a loophole for minors who don't actually want to smoke cigarettes.
The main purpose for creating the product in the first place was as a means to eventually quit smoking, when if fact, it is spiking numbers in early access nicotine addictions and health issues. In my opinion, it is ridiculous to promote a product as healthy, when the Food and Drug Administration have yet to regulate them. I feel that essentially, Blu is gaining customers by disclosing health facts and creating a more realistic take on the candy cigarette idea by giving minors (mainly middle schoolers) a cool new toy to play with, but will eventually give them long term health issues should they continue to use the product. In my opinion, the increase in minors using the product is a health and false advertising issue, and like that article states, is causing more issues than is is solving.
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