E-Cigarettes Should Be Banned - Essay Example

The term e-cigarettes refer to devices that enable users to inhale vapor enriched with nicotine or other chemicals. They are distinguished from traditional chemicals because they are battery-operated and have a heating element that heats the liquid so as to release the vapor.

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I believe that e-cigarettes should be banned from public places because of some reasons. The main reason why e-cigarettes should be banned is that, just like other cigarettes, e-cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance. Additionally, nicotine has harmful health effects. For instance, nicotine exposure during pregnancy is detrimental to the fetus and has detrimental and long-lasting impacts on the childrens mental health, behavioral health, and lung functions. Its exposure is also associated with low birth weights, premature birth, and stillbirth. Because its contents and effects are similar to those of other cigarettes, it should also be banned in public places.

Secondly, information displayed in e-cigarettes have been reported to be misleading. For instance, most e-cigarettes companies label their products as nicotine-free despite having this harmful substance. Laboratory tests conducted by FDA found out that cartridges labeled nicotine-free contained nicotine. Moreover, e-cigarette manufacturers lack strict quality assurance mechanisms, especially pertaining the amount of nicotine contained in their products. The amount of nicotine found these cigarettes have been reported to vary, even within the same brand of e-cigarettes. Such misleading labels and inconsistencies in quantities of nicotine put the lives of firsthand smokers and also those of secondhand smokers at risk if public smoking is not banned.

Third, the primary reason why e-cigarettes were introduced was to lower the amount of nicotine taken by the smokers and, therefore, reduced health risks related to nicotine use. However, the introduction of these cigarettes has been counterproductive. This is because newer e-cigarette devices come with a higher voltage capable of delivering a higher concentration of nicotine, comparable to those of traditional cigarettes. Therefore, allowing e-cigarette smokers to smoke in public in the pretext that it poses no health risk endangers the health of the general population.

Fourth, e-cigarette companies do not list all the chemical contents found in their products. Even if these cigarettes were fully nicotine free, there is a high likelihood that they contain other chemicals that might be injurious to the health of the user and the public. For instance, lab tests carried out by FDA reported that e-cigarettes contain additional substances such as cancer-causing chemicals. More specifically, some e-cigarettes have been found to have formaldehyde, another carcinogenic chemical. Furthermore, e-cigarettes contain other harmful chemicals such as Diacetyl, which has been reported to lead severe lung disease. Therefore, they cause more harm the public than traditional cigarettes because they contain more toxic chemicals.

In conclusion, e-cigarettes are more harmful than traditional cigarettes. Apart from nicotine, e-cigarettes contain other harmful chemicals. These harmful chemicals include formaldehyde and Diacetyl. Because of the presence of additional toxic chemicals, e-cigarettes are more harmful to secondhand smokers compared to traditional cigarettes. They also release many poisonous chemicals when smoked compared to traditional cigarettes. Therefore, there is no justification for continued smoking of e-cigarettes in public. If tobacco smoking in public attracts penalties and fines, e-cigarettes smoking in public should even attract stiffer and harsher penalties because they have the potential to cause greater harm to the public than the traditional cigarettes.