By W. Stephen Love, President/CEO, DFW Hospital Council
Just when you think smoking is decreasing, another tobacco product pops up. The insistence of smoking products reminds me of a game I used to play at the State Fair. Remember “Whac-A-Mole,” where we used a plastic mallet to attempt to tag that irritating mole popping up where you least expect it? Smoking products seem to have a similar consistency, as if we’re all playing a game of “Whac-A-Smoke.”

Here is some good news. Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state smoking has declined in adults from 20 percent in 2005 to 17 percent in 2013. Unfortunately, nearly one in five American adults still smoke cigarettes. For high school students, 9 percent reported in 2014 they had smoked a cigarette – a decrease from 15 percent in 2011.

This is a great trend which should inspire us to continue to support programs for youths detailing the dangers of tobacco use. But we’re not there yet. An irritating mole has popped up in the form of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). The product’s popularity has increased among teenage students. Thirteen percent of high school students reported use of e-cigarettes in 2014, versus 1.5 percent in 2011. Additionally, hookah use increased from 4 percent in 2011 to 9 percent in 2014.

This negative trend is alarming and a friend told me we must consider this an opportunity to educate the public on e-cigarettes. The distribution of information explaining the dangers of e-cigarettes will help educate the public. For example, while some adults use e-cigarettes to begin smoking cessation, early evidence shows such habits may in fact serve as an introduction to other tobacco products.

E-cigarettes contain nicotine and harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. They are not regulated by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and many states, though fortunately not Texas, have not created restrictions regarding sales to minors. Unfortunately, most e-cigarettes are readily available online for sale to minors.

According to the CDC, cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans a year and 43,000 of these deaths come from second-hand smoke. Smoking-related expenses total more than $300 billion annually in the U.S.

Public health is everyone’s responsibility. We need to educate people, especially our youth, on the dangers of using cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, hookahs and other harmful tobacco products. Yes, it’s a never ending game of Whac-A-Smoke.