Emerging Issues in Nicotine Dependence: The Rise of ENDS

Since their introduction to US audiences around 2006, electronic cigarettes have altered the tobacco use landscape. Their use has escalated rapidly over the last few years even as decades of decline in tobacco use has recently stalled, meaning that e-cigarette use is taking up an increasing share of overall tobacco use. This is especially true in youth populations where use of pod-based products like Juul have taken schools by storm. Public health and clinical advice have always focused on the dangers of secondhand smoke and the carcinogens in the burned tobacco leaf as motivations to quit using tobacco—two dangers absent from Electronics Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS). Or are they? Join us as we explore the patterns of current tobacco use, a frank discussion of the pros and cons of ENDS use, and how public health and healthcare providers might effectively respond to END’s growing prominence among tobacco users.