Vaping complications continue

Vaping: one of the many trends of the 21st century. Vaping is essentially inhaling and exhaling vapor through an e-cigarette or similar device. Though it’s said that the first e-cig was patented in the 1960s, widespread manufacturing and use only really started in about 2003. They were introduced to the U.S. mass market in 2007, and from then, vaping has rapidly become popular.

Vaping is often seen as a way to wean oneself from one’s traditional smoking habits to a non-smoking lifestyle. This is especially because vaping is less harmful than traditional smoking, as the e-cigarettes expose you to fewer toxic chemicals than traditional cigarettes—such traditional cigarettes contain some 7,000 chemicals. Moreover, e-cigarettes are not only cheaper than regular cigarettes, but they usually come in a myriad of flavors, heightening their appeal to youth. However, vaping is still detrimental to your health, and it possesses the addictive qualities of normal smoking. They come with a high risk of hooking you on nicotine, and thus, it isn’t even a reliable way to help you drop smoking habits. Unfortunately, studies conducted by the University of Yale have found that vaping devices have not been proven to help adult smokers quit smoking and they also make younger people more likely to smoke in the future.

So, while vaping has been a thing for nearly 15 years, only recently has the practice been under fire for steadily increasing numbers of vaping-related illnesses and even deaths. It seems somewhat arbitrary, but the numbers are alarming. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated on September 12, an undulation of some 380 cases have been reported by 36 states and the US Virgin Islands since April. These cases are either confirmed, where vaping appears to be the only culprit for illness, or probable, where testing is ongoing. Several of these cases involved a person of middle age or older.

On September 17, health officials in California confirmed the death of a patient due to a vaping-related illness—at least the seventh reported death related to this national outbreak of vaping related lung disease. Prior, each of the six deaths had occurred in separate states.

Why the sudden spike in reported cases? Well, based on a New York State Health report, 34 of the New York cases reported using cannabis products. Maybe we aren’t getting the full story regarding these vaping related illnesses, but only time will tell. Still, if you vape, vape responsibly!

Darlon Riviere - Contributing Writer