Is Gen Z bringing cigarettes back? A lung doctor explains the risks

Well, this is hard to believe, but smoking is apparently cool again after millennials kicked cigarettes to the curb. Gen Z is picking them back up. They claim they are healthier than vapes. Yeah, I mean, anecdotally, I have seen more people smoking real cigarettes than I have in a really long time. In fact, someone on TikTok called them a plant-based alternative to vapes, and thousands agree. The irony is that vaping was originally introduced. It was sort of Sort of like the healthier alternative to cigarettes but It may not be the case now, so joining us now is Dr. Momin Wahidi, a medical volunteer with the American Lung Association and medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute. So good to have you here, thanks for being here. I'm glad we can talk about this. Good morning, thanks for having me and happy to address this issue. Yeah, so I mean, how concerning is it to hear that, oh, cigarettes are a plant-based alternative? This is very concerning. This is a misguided and dangerous wellness myth. The fact is, yes, it's a plant, tobacco, but the moment you burn it, you are producing a large amount of tar, carbon monoxide, and thousands of chemicals, estimated at 7,000 chemicals or so, from cigarette smoke. So we know that tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, that it can cause definitively lung cancer. chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and so many risks, so to switch from vaping to tobacco is very harmless, harmful, sorry, and I think it's important to know that vaping by itself is not harmless, vaping also, you know, you're inhaling a lot of chemicals into your lungs, lungs were made to receive fresh air, not chemicals. Vaping has only been around for about 20 years. It was introduced to the U.S. in 2006 or so. So we don't know the full harm of vaping. We have early data, maybe showing association, maybe with cancer, but it takes decades to prove that. But we know that vaping also can cause airway irritation, lung inflammation and other respiratory illnesses. Both are not great choices, but definitely tobacco smoke is very dangerous and harmful to the lungs. Yeah, I was going to ask, so if we take the mass-produced, chemical-infused cigarettes out of the mix, and we say, let's say we're just rolling dried tobacco, nothing is added to it, is that a less damaging alternative to vaping, or is that just as dangerous? So if you're not burning tobacco and you're using tobacco, it's still very dangerous because tobacco has nicotine and nicotine is one of the most addictive substance known to human. And so you're exposing yourself to nicotine, you're going to get addicted and eventually you'll probably pick up cigarettes or other forms. So any form of really tobacco consumption is really dangerous to your health. Okay, so I mean, let's talk a little bit about this because we, I mean, the headline is that Gen Z, you know, generations of people who are much younger are looking at this as a healthier alternative. So what's the best way to navigate this as parents? Like, how do you talk to kids about this? Yeah, I mean I've seen this on social media. I think they're trying to say tobacco is like there's nostalgia and it's edgy and you go to the balcony and socialize with people. But again, let's not forget the damage that tobacco and smoking has done. We've worked really hard over the last 30-40 years to reduce smoking rates in the United States. We're now down to about 12-13% smoking rate. In the United States. For my, for the parents, you know, unfortunately vaping is up in high school and middle school. It's about 5% of all the high school and middle schooler, 8%. And those folks are at four times more likely the risk of picking up cigarettes. So, you know, if you vape, it's a gateway to tobacco smoking. So, you know, I think we need to continue to educate our young people and make sure that they know tobacco cigarette smoking is very harmful. Vaping is also harmful. Although we understand it less, but certainly not a healthy alternative. Neither is a healthy alternative, and both are very harmful. Can I ask a dumb, what kind of, I want to ask, this is going to sound like a dumb question. Maybe I, so you had said that if you, when Natalie asked, if we just roll up tobacco and we don't have any of the other chemicals, and you mentioned that, well, you're still going to get addicted to nicotine, what, okay. I'm not saying that I don't think people should smoke. It's not good for you. We know that. But I'm wondering if people are watching going, well, what's so bad about being addicted to nicotine? What what what is happening when your body's addicted to nicotine that we need to be aware of that that is dangerous, that we don't want to happen? Yeah, I mean, you know, being addicted to nicotine, you're craving tobacco products all the time and even if you're not smoking it, so if you chew tobacco, you know, we know that it causes mouth and throat cancer, even if you just not smoke it. So, yeah, and we know that addiction to nicotine is very harmful to younger folks because it can affect the brain development. There is a spectrum of harms coming from tobacco, whether you smoke it or use it without smoking. In this article that I was reading, I think it was New York Times talking about this trend among Gen Z, many of them were just doing it socially, like go out, have a couple drinks with a friend. The social smoking aspect. The social smoking. How did, and you're probably gonna answer the same way you've answered all the other questions, but how dangerous is that? Is that something that's probably okay? Or just don't do it at all because it leads to worse things. Yeah, I mean, when we look at the science and the data, any smoking gives you an increased risk of cancer, lung cancer, right? So, and then the cardiovascular effect and all the other harmful effects. So, yes, if you smoke less, you probably, your risk is slightly reduced, but it's definitely there. It's not a zero. Any smoking, and when we look at our patients in clinic and, you know, any history of smoking puts them at a higher risk. Of complication and health effects. Now the more you smoke the higher the risk that it is what we call dose-dependent So the more you do it the harmful it is but just having social and social is such a loose definition, right? Is that once a week is that and we know eventually people like folks like that tend to increase their consumption gradually Dr. Wahidi, thanks for being here, and thank you for answering our questions. I feel like sometimes I'm always worried that I'm going to ask a dumb question, but I think it's good that we sort of poke holes in some of these arguments that, you know, I have some loved ones that still smoke, and I'm going, okay, when they say this or that, how would I come back and counter that argument? So it's good that we hear this from you, and we appreciate you being here this morning. Thank you. Thank you so much for raising awareness about the harm of tobacco. I appreciate it. Thank you.