To help you understand more about the e-cigarette, Kosciusko Community Hospital, K21 Health Foundation, Kosciusko County Health Department, and Kosciusko County Tobacco Free Coalition are sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting to educate the public about the e-cigarette at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in the City Hall meeting room.

The Director to Tobacco Prevention Cessation Commission of the Indiana Department of Health from Indianapolis with a local pharmacist, Bowen Center therapist, and school administrator will be on a panel. This panel will present information that will give current data about the e-cigarette and the e-liquid. After the panel’s presentation, there will be a time to ask questions. The questions will be written down and read by the moderator, Mayor Joe Thallemer, for the panel to answer.

Electronic nicotine delivery systems are battery-powered devices that provide doses of nicotine and other additives to the user that can produce an aerosol. There are currently multiple types of ENDS on the U.S. market, including e-cigarettes, e-hookahs, hookah pens, vape pens, e-cigars, and others.

More than 40 million Americans have used e-cigarettes, but a new study shows the liquid inside damages healthy cells and increases the risk of respiratory infections.

Researchers at National Jewish Health in Denver found that the liquid used in e-cigarettes quickly damaged healthy cells.

While one might speculate the e-cigarettes are a safer alternative than combustible tobacco, they are almost certainly not safe. While the effects of inhaled nicotine has been extensively studied, little is known about the effects of long term recurring breathing in amounts of aerosolized propylene glycol and glycerin into the lungs. Pneumonia from e-cigarettes has been reported and over the long term there may be a pattern of e-cigarettes causing pulmonary diseases.

According to the 2014 Surgeon General Report, the evidence is sufficient to caution children and adolescents, pregnant women, and women of reproductive age about ENDS use because of the potential for fetal and adolescent nicotine exposure to have long-term consequences for brain development.

Data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey suggested a doubling of e-cigarette use among U.S. middle and high school students from 2011 to 2012. Among all students in sixth through twelfth grade ever use increased from 3.3 percent to 6.8 percent; and current use increased from 1.1 percent to 2.1 percent.

Just-released data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers shows that poisoning incidents involving e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine jumped by 156 percent in the past year. In addition, they have increased more than 14 fold since 2011. More than half the calls involved a child under the age of six, and one child died in December.

A new federal survey has found that e-cigarette use among teenagers has surpassed the use of traditional cigarettes as smoking has continued to decline. Health advocates say the trend for e-cigarette use is dangerous because it is making smoking seem normal again. They also worry it could lead to an increase in tobacco smoking.

E-cigarettes have split the public health world, with some experts arguing that they are the best hope in generations for the 18 percent of Americans who still smoke. Others say that people are using them not to quit but to keep smoking, and that they could become a gateway for young people to take up real cigarettes.

Most experts agree that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than traditional cigarettes. But they contain nicotine, an addictive substance that is potentially harmful for brain development. Some experts also warn that nicotine use can establish patterns that leave young people more vulnerable to addiction to other substances.

Come to learn more. If you have any questions about the meeting, call Dan Gray, (260) 571-2464.