CDC gives vaping the anti treatment

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is launching its latest round of graphic anti-smoking messages, and this time it is including vaping in the mix.

According to a story by John Tozzi for Bloomberg, the campaign expands on the CDC’s three-year-old ‘Tips From Former Smokers’ series, which enlists real people who’ve been ravaged by smoking.

Meanwhile, a story by Steven Reinberg for HealthDay quoted the CDC director, Dr. Tom Frieden, as saying the messages would save lives and money.

Most US smokers wanted to quit, he said, and the new messages would help them do so.

But Frieden stressed that the use of electronic cigarettes was a problematic way to quit smoking.

“If an e-cigarette helps an individual to quit smoking for good, that’s a good thing,” he said.

“But many children are using e-cigarettes and getting hooked on nicotine, and that’s an addiction that can stay with you for life.

“Many adults who think they are going to get off cigarettes by using e-cigarettes are actually continuing to smoke, and that does more harm than good.”

Nationally, about three in four adult electronic cigarette users smoke cigarettes too, according to the CDC.