E-cigarette indoor use still harmful to children's health

When e-cigarettes are used indoors, children absorb less nicotine than they would from secondhand smoke, but still at harmful levels.

According to a study released on the 12th by Dr. Harry Tattan-Birch's team at University College London (UCL), children exposed to e-cigarettes indoors had blood cotinine levels one-sixth those of children exposed to secondhand smoke, but five times higher than those not exposed at all.

The study analyzed data from 1,777 children aged 3 to 11 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the U.S. from 2017 to 2020.

The data included information on indoor exposure to secondhand smoke or e-cigarettes over a week and blood cotinine levels.

Dr. Tattan-Birch stated, "Through real-world data, we confirmed that nicotine absorption from passive exposure to e-cigarettes is much lower than from secondhand smoke," but emphasized, "However, using e-cigarettes around children can still increase exposure to harmful substances."

The research team particularly pointed out the negative impacts of indoor smoking on children's health, stating that e-cigarettes should also be avoided around children.

According to the study, while 9 out of 10 e-cigarette users in the UK use them indoors, only half of smokers smoke indoors, suggesting that future research could investigate the effects of these differences in passive exposure.

The research team noted that while these results provide evidence that e-cigarettes might have a lesser impact on the health of those around them compared to smoking, if indoor use of e-cigarettes becomes normalized, it could become more challenging to prevent. They added that such factors should be considered in discussions about banning indoor use of e-cigarettes.

https://www.sankyungtoday.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=47024

E-cigarette indoor use still harmful to children's health