A statement issued by the Surgeon General of the United States on youth e-cigarette use this morning, while not quite definitive, is fairly damning nonetheless. While Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy stated that more research needs to be done on the issue, he believes enough evidence exists to consider the phenomenon “a major public health concern.”
Murthy spoke to The Washington Post ahead of the official release of his Report on E-Cigarette Use Among Youth & Young Adults. “We know enough right now to say that youth and young adults should not be using e-cigarettes or any other tobacco product, for that matter,” he told the paper. “The key bottom line here is that the science tells us the use of nicotine-containing products by youth, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe.”
The report is the first comprehensive federal government review of the public health impact of e-cigarettes on U.S. youth and young adults.
— Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) December 8, 2016
The Surgeon General will report his official findings during a webcast this morning at 9:30AM ET. The report is the culmination of two years of research, calling it “the first comprehensive federal government review of the public health impact of e-cigarettes on U.S. youth and young adults.”
The report will undoubtedly raise the ire of e-cigarette proponents who consider the technology a safer alternative to traditional tobacco consumption. Today’s findings meanwhile, while likely focus on the effects of nicotine usage and the continued need for long term research on the relatively new phenomenon.
