Students of Ball State’s Pre-EKG Program and members of the Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital staff received instruction on the health risks of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) devices Monday night at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.
Twenty students and hospital staff were in attendance for a presentation from Jordan Moss of the Tobacco Free Coalition of Delaware County, who explained the health hazards of ENDS devices like e-cigarettes, JUULs and hookahs.
“I hope to raise awareness that [ENDS devices] are not healthy for you and that they are just another means of the tobacco company getting money out of you,” said Moss.
Though still not as prevalent as normal cigarettes, which were smoked by 15 in 100 Americans as of 2016, e-cigarettes and other ENDS devices are growing rapidly in popularity.
Moss says he could see the e-cigarette surpassing normal cigarettes in overall usage within the next ten years, should the number of users continue to grow.
“You’re killing yourself over time,” said Moss on the popular JUUL devices, which, according to the Tobacco Free Coalition, contain one pack of standard cigarettes per JUUL pod.
Despite seeing a national decrease in e-cigarette use in 2016, the JUUL buoyed that number significantly in the following years.
JUULs have become one of the more prevalent forms of e-cigarette over the past three years despite their potential for taking a high toll on the health of users. Moss says the more cost-effective nature of JUUL pods make them more marketable to low income communities and youth than cigarettes or other forms of nicotine.
Americans have seen more extensive targeting by big e-cigarette and tobacco companies in the past decade than ever before, Moss said. It is estimated that the tobacco industry spent $9.1 billion in 2014 alone on their marketing campaigns, with 95 percent of that money going into point-of-sale marketing, the type of branding seen in most convenience and grocery stores.
Youth and young adults in particular saw a dramatic increase in targeted advertising from e-cigarette companies between 2011 and 2013: Youth advertising increased by 256 percent and young adult advertising increased by 321 percent, according to Moss’ research.
According to Moss, Delaware County, which sits squarely at the Indiana smoking rate of 21 percent of the population identifying as smokers, has further steps to take to rid itself of smoking of both tobacco and ENDS devices.
“It’s the nicotine. Once you start, it’s addictive. It is going to trap you,” Moss said. “In the future, I would like to see Delaware County’s tobacco use down in the single digits.”
Contact John Lynch with comments at jplynch@bsu.edu.
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