E-Cigarettes News & Reviews 2014: What Will Happen When Bans Make Vape Culture Go Up in Smoke?

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As more strict bans on smoking have taken effect nation-wide, the development of the alternative competitor "e-cigarettes" has boomed into a $2 billion a year industry. The battery-powered electronic cigarettes that vaporize nicotine and scented oils have opened new avenues for addicted smokers who can once again smoke indoors under the letter of the law, but with so many questions left unanswered that's likely to soon change.

As some claim that e-cigarettes are helping aid the harm reduction of the tobacco industry and helping curb addiction, much like methadone is used for heroin abuse, others fear that the toxic vapors are creating a sub-culture far more dangerous to the future of Millennials.

Accepted in social circles, and coming in a wide variety of over 7,000 sweet flavors that include popular breakfast cereals, the e-cigarettes have become highly popular in a new generation of smokers taking part in what is called the "Vape Culture". And as organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) conceded that these vaporizers appeared to be "considerably less harmful than smoking tobacco" their popularity has risen. However, researchers insist that enough data is not yet available to make that decision.

"We don't know enough yet about the harms and side effects of electronic cigarettes, and it will take years before we can be sure what they are" WHO health official John Ashton says. "Most adult smokers start smoking before the age of 18; that's why many public health experts are concerned that the advertising of electronic cigarettes could make it seem normal again to think smoking is glamorous, when it is anything but."

Although many health organizations worldwide have conceded that the beneficial effects of curbing addiction may in fact be real, these organizations are now speaking out. And backed by recent research data, they're imploring for a set of bans that will make the vape culture just as villainized as big tobacco industry itself.

"We are fiercely committed to preventing the tobacco industry from addicting another generation smokers" America Heart Association chief executive, Nancy Brown says.

The World Health Organization also recently changed its stance on e-cigarettes, as new research exposed that the misleading marketing has led to harmful effects on the general public.

"Existing evidence shows that [e-cigarette] aerosol is not merely 'water vapor' as is often claimed in the marketing for these products" WHO said in a recent report to be reviewing by the UN council this October at the summit in Moscow. "[E-cigarette] use poses serious threats to adolescents and fetuses. In addition, it increases exposure of nonsmokers and bystanders to nicotine and a number of toxicants."

In light of the recent research, organizations have become outspoken about implementing bans and more strict regulations on flavors that appeal to children, as well as indoor/public use of e-cigarettes in general. Earlier this month more than 24 states' attorney generals sent letters asking that the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban flavors, as well as, mandating warning labels be clearly printed on the e-cigarettes that illustrate the very real dangers of vaping. Although only 14 states currently have bans on e-cigarette use in smoke-free venues, local governments have begun implementing mandates that will undoubtedly set the pace for what will likely be national laws that will better guide the unregulated use of the highly unresearched vaporizers.

So if you're a part of the vape culture, enjoy, because before long public smoking may again be up in smoke.