what are the risks – breaking latest news

They smoke even if they are not of legal age to be able to buy cigarettes, without great difficulty in getting what they want, mixing a bit of everything: “classic” cigarettes, loose rolling tobacco, e-cigs or heated tobacco products. And, as if that weren’t enough, they are still frequently exposed to the passive smoking by adults or smoker peers: at home, in the car, in schoolyards, the ban is not respected much. On the eve of World No Tobacco Day (World No Tobacco Day, celebrated all over the world on 31 May), what emerges from the last survey coordinated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Iss), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, on a sample of almost two thousand Italian 13-15 year olds.

Survey on Italian 13-15 year olds

16% smoked traditional cigarettes in the last month, mostly girls. One in four have used at least one tobacco or nicotine product e about half are at risk of addiction. As has already been the case for some time in America, the use of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products is increasing: “The share of minors who make concomitant use of traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products is significant, while only 2 % of the sample uses classic cigarettes exclusively,” he says Valentina Minardi, researcher at the ISS Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and coordinator of the «Global Youth Tobacco Survey» -. A widespread trend that has already been recorded in recent times even in younger adults. Heated tobacco devicesregistered for the first time in the 2022 survey, are used by 14% of respondents, while and e-cig they went from 18% to 22% in four years (from 2018 to 2022).

Teens love to vape: the “puff bar” trend

There is no doubt: the very young like to vape. You can see it in the videos on social networks where they compete and play in circles that they manage to draw with the smoke they exhale. It is deduced in the growing number of alarms launched by experts, especially in Western countries, starting with the United States. The problem is at the center of attention in the most important medical congresses and there is an increasingly substantial scientific literature that investigates the issue, as also demonstrated an editorial published in the latest issue of the prestigious magazine The Lancet dedicated to the health of children and adolescents, where the finger is pointed at the industry that specially creates new products with captivating tastes for teenagers. «The latest fashion is the puff barbasically disposable e-cigs, which cannot be recharged – he explains Robert Boffipulmonologist, head of Pulmonology and the Anti-Smoking Center of the IRCCS National Cancer Institute of Milan —. They cost less than 10 euros, they supply an average of more than 300 puffs (puff), or more than 20 cigarettes. And above all, as with e-cig liquids, they are sold in many attractive flavors: fruit, sweets, mint and various oddities. They capture a younger audience, as well as packs and devices themselves: colorful and nice they become fashion objects. They exist with and without nicotine, so they can (and often manage to) be addictive».

Fight against manufacturers’ marketing

Because one of the crucial points is here: the kids start thinking they are harmless, following the marketing of the manufacturing companies which has focused on the concept of «less dangerous and less harmful». Thus, as statistics show, many pass from devices without nicotine to those with, becoming full-fledged smokers. It is not a case that Australiafor some time now the leader in carrying out some of the toughest reforms in the fight against smoking, I’m about to crack down on vaping now. In the country where the cheapest package costs around 20 euros and the most expensive exceeds 30 and where for almost a decade tobacco has been sold boxed in unbranded wrappers, all the same (only the threat of death and damage to health are evident) , Health Minister Mark Butler he announced a few weeks ago a reform that will concern “vaping”: the government to which he belongs is ready to approve a plan to make it practically banned.

Price increase: the petition of the Veronesi Foundation

Laws and institutions could also be useful in Italy, with regard to price increases: «It has now been amply demonstrated by various researches and by the experience of other countries, such as the increase in the cost of tobacco is an effective measure to reduce the number of smokers – points out Paul Veronesi, president of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, always at the forefront in the fight against smoking of tobacco through the remodulation of excise duties. A substantial increase. Indeed, a survey sponsored by the Foundation leaves no doubt that money is an excellent incentive: faced with the hypothesis of rising costs, many smokers would stop or reduce the number of cigarettes». If in Italy you get to 10 euros per pack of cigarettes (as for example in France), 800 million fewer packages would be sold and there would be 5.4 billion more tax revenues. Someone has already adopted this strategy for years: in the UK between 1992 and 2011 the price of cigarettes quadrupled and the percentage of smokers has halved since 2000, also thanks to effective actions to educate, limit smuggling and help to quit.

Damage to children’s health

“Many people, especially the younger ones, they believe that vaping is a safe choice for health, but any type of smoke causes harm – underlines Boffi -. Even nicotine-free liquids contain many different substances that they can damage the lungs, even more so in adolescents and childrenmore sensitive to smoke. Numerous studies have documented that e-cigs carry fewer risks than traditional tobacco, but there are still some dangerous substances in the aerosol, such as heavy metals and aldehydes (especially formaldehyde, which is carcinogenic)». In teenagers who vape scientific research has also highlighted an increase in respiratory disorders, such as bronchitis, asthma, shortness of breath, more frequent inflammations. Not even heated tobacco is free from dangers and damage to health. But are these new devices useful for quitting smoking? “In reality, Italian and international statistics indicate that many people who try to switch to e-cigarettes to quit end up becoming dual consumers, that is, they use both and are unable to say enough – concludes Minardi -. Gestures for a smoker are very important. For years, however, we have seen the growing ranks of kids who start with vaping and turn into real smokers. They have great confidence in their ability to quit when they want to, but then they can’t. If you don’t make a lot of effort.”