Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Furthermore, by 2030, 8 million people worldwide are likely to die annually of smoking-related diseases-lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The American Lung Association reports that $27.3 billion in tobacco-related taxes and law suit settlements will pour into state coffers in 2019; yet, investment in smoking cessation programs and prevention will reach only $655 million or 2.4% of annual tobacco funding.1 Studies indicate that nearly 70% of current adult smokers want to quit and 55% have tried to quit at least once.2 Nevertheless, good intentions are overridden by the addictive properties of nicotine and powerful marketing strategies by tobacco companies that have evolved with the times. Consider the growing use of e-cigarettes.
The first time I saw young people "vaping," I thought they were chewing on candy flash drives. I quickly realized that the billows of white smoke were the by-product of those high-tech cigarettes that came to market in 2007 promising reduced nicotine to tobacco smokers if they transitioned. Of recent concern is the exponential use of e-cigarettes, especially since these new devices contain nicotine in a more absorbable form, as well as flavorings, and other harmful additives. e-Cigarettes can also be used to deliver drugs such as marijuana. The US Surgeon General's Advisory on e-Cigarette Use Among Youth3 reports that 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 20 middle school students engage in e-cigarette use. Assessment of smoking behaviors should assume much more importance among health providers who work with children and adolescents.
Despite fines on tobacco companies, warnings to consumers, high taxes on cigarettes, the establishment of no-smoking zones, nicotine patches, and other smoking cessation strategies, traditional and e-cigarette smoking continues at an alarming rate. This issue of Holistic Nursing Practice includes 2 research articles comparing the use of holistic methods for smoking cessation, specifically auricular acupressure, with more traditional approaches. Like the authors of these articles, it is time to heed the Surgeon General's Advisory3 to learn as much as we can about the dangers of e-cigarettes and to design creative intervention programs with generational appeal. In the absence of such effort, the health of another generation could "go up in smoke."
-Gloria F. Donnelly, PhD, RN, FAAN, FCPP
Editor in Chief
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