As a battle heats up in D.C. this week between Congress and the makers of popular JUUL e-cigarettes, new research suggests that smoking alternatives like vaping are less benign than manufacturers claim.

JUUL, like other e-cigarette brands, claims that its product is a safer option than traditional cigarettes. Because of its youth-centric marketing campaigns and fruit-flavored product offerings like mango and cucumber, Parents Against Vaping E-Cigarettes (PAVE) and other organizations pinpoint JUUL as a key reason for the recent surge in teen tobacco use. According to the FDA, daily e-cigarette use by high school students rose 78 percent between 2017 and 2018. Even more frightening is the statistic that e-cigarette use among middle school students jumped by 48 percent in that same period.

Ascension Saint Thomas told WGNS News:

• Vaping isn't a shortcut to quitting. A French study published this month found that smokers who replace traditional cigarettes with e-cigarettes are statistically likely to return to traditional cigarettes--vaping is not a reliable bet for helping nicotine addicts nix the habit altogether.

• E-cigarettes can explode. According to one study, e-cigarette combustions caused at least 2,035 ER visits in the US between 2015 and 2017.

• Second-hand smoke is still a risk. Research has found that vaping exposes bystanders to second-hand aerosol composed of nicotine and other toxins.

Source: Ascension Saint Thomas