More young children are getting sick from e-cigarettes, according to a new study that comes on the heels of a federal ban on the cigarettes for minors.
From January 2012-April 2015, the National Poison Data System received nearly 30,000 calls for nicotine and tobacco product exposures among children younger than six years old. The most exposures were from cigarettes with 60 percent, followed by other tobacco products at 16 percent and e-cigarettes at 14 percent, according to the findings detailed in the journal Pediatrics.
The monthly number of exposures associated with e-cigarettes increased by nearly 1,500 percent from January 2012-April 2015.
But even though more kids got sick from traditional cigarettes, those exposed to e-cigarettes were more likely to go to the doctor.
Children exposed to e-cigarettes had 5.2 times higher likelikehood of being admitted to a healthcare facility and 2.6 times higher odds of having a severe outcome compared to kids exposed to cigarettes, the study said.
One death occurred from exposure to liquid nicotine, an ingredient in e-cigarettes.
Researchers called for “swift government action” to regulate the products and keep them from children. That includes education about the best way to store e-cigarettes and changing their packaging so they are less appealing to young kids.
The study comes less than a week after the Food and Drug Administration announced new regulations for e-cigarettes, including a ban on sales to minors. However, the agency did not ban flavors in e-cigarettes.
Some health advocates have said the flavors are used to entice kids to take up smoking e-cigarettes. E-cigarette use has doubled in recent years among middle and high-school students, according to federal data.
