Smoke (or Vapor) and Mirrors

I’ve been on a bit of a vaping tear recently. Can’t help it. With kids in middle school, I refuse to just sit back and watch e-cigarette manufacturers hold our offspring (their desired customers) in their crosshairs. That plus it’s just plain gross to see plumes of vapor filling cars idling next to me or to walk through mango-scented clouds that appear on sidewalks, seemingly out of nowhere. So I have read just about everything I can get my eyeballs on.

Here are just a few little details I feel the need to reiterate as clearly as possible, because much of what you read on line is paid content, heavily biased, or just plain untrue.

• No, e-cigs aren’t safer than traditional ones. Smoking is bad on two fronts:  cigarettes contain addictive components and combustibles. So far, we know that vaping is bad thanks to similar exposure to of addictive substances. Just because they don’t combust and form smoke doesn’t mean they are any better for you.
• The addictive component of regular old cigarettes and e-juice (lovely name, lots of flavors!) you’ll read about most is nicotine. That’s the one that wreaks havoc on your brain and makes you want more more more. You can only imagine what it does to your kid’s brain, which is far more susceptible because it’s only half-way cooked. On average, when it comes to nicotine quantity, one vape pod = one pack of cigarettes.
• We haven’t nailed down exactly why else vaping is bad, but we will in a few more years. When you heat up chemicals that are known to cause cancer and you inhale them, I can pretty much guarantee you the future news will be bad.
• Need something tangible to share with your kids? Show them this study demonstrating that e-cig smokers pee out cancer-causing chemicals after they vape. Especially if they use fruity flavors. But fruit is healthy, right? Oh the irony!