PHIL-347 Week 5 Course Project: Annotated Bibliography and Source Evaluation (graded A)

Week 5 Assignment: Annotated Bibliography and Source Evaluation Chamberlain University PHIL347N- Critical Reasoning Source 1 The first source is a scholarly article titled, “7 Risks of e-cig arettes emerge by Janet Raloff written in 2014. The article is recent which still includes a lot of the harmful effects of vaping and e-cigarettes. In the article, Raloff talks about the main harmful effects that are seen in using e-cigs which are devices that dispense water vapor laced with liquid (Raloff, 2014). The main risk that is seen with e-cigs being marketed as an alternative to normal cigarettes is the levels of nicotine which are harmful in developing brains of teens (Raloff, 2014). Some other risks that Raloff mentions is how e-cigs contain many chemicals such as nitrosamines which are carcinogenic (Raloff, 2014). Source 2 The second source would be a substantive article titled, “JUUL e-Cigarette Sales Increase More than 600% in One Year” by Truth Initiative written in 2018. This article is very recent and has a lot of the same topics which are relevant to the risks of e-cigs. In the article, the anti- tobacco company show many statistics and problems related to them regarding the increased use of e-cigs in the last decade. Many of the statistics showed how teen vaping was on the rise and that the FDA and CDC had gotten involved due to the increased marketing to younger people who were addicted (Truth Initiative, 2018). For example, “Juul e-cigarettes sales increased 641 percent during just one year, from 2.2 million devices sold in 2016 to 16.2 million devices sold in 2017” (Truth Initiative, 2018). Source 3 The third source is an article from the National Library of Medicine titled, “E-Cigarettes Induce Toxicological Effects That Can Raise the Cancer Risk” by Canistro, Donatella, et al. written in 2017. This article puts together the research of many scientists and researchers from recently talking about the cancer risks associated with e-cigs due to its toxicological effects. In this article, the authors examine and perform many experiments that test the toxicity of e-cig vapors that are released. For example, “We found that e-cigs have a powerful booster effect on phase-I carcinogen-bioactivating enzymes” (Canistro, Donatella, et al. , 2017). is a statement from the authors in their abstract which highlights the finding from their experiments and state how marketing to the younger generation needs to be stopped as it can be very harmful to the growing and still developing body. Source 4 The fourth source is a news article titled “The Promise of Vaping and the Rise of Juul” from The New Yorker written by Jia Tolentino in 2018. This article is based on a first hand experience of e-cigs and vaping as well as introducing the reader to the history of nicotine and its harmful effects on the developing body. Tolentino states, “the nicotine in tobacco binds to receptors in multiple regions of the brain, raising dopamine levels and mimicking a key neurotransmitter that affects focus and arousal” (Tolentino, 2018). This is harmful to a developing body because the body starts to rely on this form of obtaining nicotine and shuts down its natural methods meaning you develop dependency/addiction towards it. This article offers a different perspective on the e-cig epidemic that has taken over in the youth generation in the form of high school and college students. Source 5 The final source is a scholarly article titled “Quick Facts on the Risks of E-Cigarettes for Kids, Teens, and Young Adults” by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in 2019. This informational article would be the most up to date article as it was last updated in 2019. In the article, there are many facts and statistics on the harmful side effects of vaping as well as the ingredients in e-cig vapor. The point of this article is to summarize all of the articles and journals out there on this subject into one big article. The CDC hopes to inform the younger generation that is hooked to e-cigs on the harmful effects it can have on their body. For example, the CDC states “Each time a new memory is created or a new skill is learned, stronger connections – or synapses – are built between brain cells. Young people’s brains build synapses faster than adult brains. Nicotine changes the way these synapses are formed” (CDC, 2019). There are many questions which are answered that someone who is questioning whether e-cigs are for them or not can find. The CDC makes it simple in adding illustrations and easy to read tables on the message they are trying to convey which is that e-cigs and vaping are not healthy for the younger generation. References “JUUL e-Cigarette Sales Increase More than 600% in One Year.” Truth Initiative, Truth Initiative, 16 Oct. 2018,