21.6 percent of 18 to 24 year olds have tried an e-cigarette in their lifetimes compared to 12.6 percent of all adults.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention isn’t blowing smoke when it says young adults are the age group in America most-likely to use e-cigarettes.
Among 18-24 year olds, 21.6 percent have tried an e-cigarette in their lifetime, according to a study released by the CDC last month.
However, the average percentage of all adults, 18 and older, who have used an e-cigarette is 12.6 percent.
Stephan Lewis, the manager of Vape Lab, said he sees a variety of people coming into the shop at 11 W. State St.
“It’s definitely growing, the vaping community as a whole, is growing for sure,” Lewis said.
The CDC also found young adults who use e-cigarettes continuously is at 5.1 percent, compared to the overall adult average of 3.7 percent.
Max Lipson, a freshman studying international business, said he "vapes" regularly and finds the percentages in Ohio University’s student population to be much higher.
“I’d say 80 percent have vaped, but only 20 percent have continued to do it,” Lipson said.
As use of e-cigarettes, which aren't regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, becomes more popular, the potential health risks are unknown because of the lack of research, according to the FDA's website.
Lewis said e-cigarette users try to stay away from the term "e-cigarette" because the device is “in no way, shape or form, a cigarette.”
"I can’t think of any research done that’s actually proven there is anything wrong with it," Lewis said. "Everything that's in the juice (which is turned into vapor and then inhaled) is found in a lot of different things we actually eat and enjoy."
He added that vaping is a form of "tobacco-harm reduction," in that it helps people to stop smoking traditional cigarettes.
"I’ve quit smoking thanks to it," Lewis said. "All my friends have quit smoking and switched to vaping.”
Cathy Baker, an assistant professor in the OU School of Nursing, said she's concerned because although e-cigarettes are a healthier alternative to cigarettes, people view e-cigarettes as harmless when they are not.
She added that some of the harm involved in using e-cigarettes includes effects of a nicotine addiction.
“The nicotine is what causes some of the other negative effects,” Baker said. “For instance, heart disease, high blood pressure, risks to the fetus if someone is smoking when they are pregnant, are caused by the nicotine.”
Baker also said heating the juice used in e-cigarettes can create hydrocarbons and formaldehyde, which aren’t healthy for people to inhale.
Venkata Thota, a graduate student studying physics and a non-smoker, said he personally is against using e-cigarettes.
“They advertise them as less harmful than the normal (cigarettes), so I guess they’re healthier,” Thota said. “But any case, when you are sending a lot of fog into your lungs, it is not a good thing to do.”
Hayden Zimmerman, a freshman studying computer science, said vaping is a hobby of his.
“It’s not harmless.” he said. “But it’s definitely harm reduction.”
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