Vaping Becomes Media’s Latest Scapegoat
Media sources this week say vaping is killing individuals and is more deadly than smoking without evidence to back up these claims. Within a few months 193 people have been hospitalized for “vaping related lung illnesses” and one person has even died. Many of these patients have acknowledged vaping in the days and weeks leading up to their sudden illness but there has been no biological or chemical evidence to support the claim that it is caused by the vaporizers or e-liquid.
Vaping has been around for more than a decade, if there was a correlation between vaping and a sudden onset of lung illness, there would be a trail of breadcrumbs leading back to it over the years. Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, a group that advocates vaping products, said that each month, about 10 million adults vape nicotine without major issues. “It appears much more likely that the products causing lung damage are amateur-made street vapes containing THC or illegal drugs, not nicotine,” he argued. If this were solely related to vaping it would be a widespread pandemic, not seen in small, localized pockets.
Most articles vaguely blame this “outbreak” solely on vaping, though most, and in some states including California and Utah all cases, admitted to using THC through their vaporizers. Former FDA head, Scott Gottlieb, said he “suspected counterfeit pods are to blame, given the geographic clustering of cases and the fact that, overall, the FDA is inspecting registered e-cigarette makers and retailers to make sure they’re complying with existing regulations.” In one case, the patient said “he got his cartridges in Las Vegas and it appeared they had been opened, presumably to introduce THC” though whether they were opened by the patient or a third party was not clear.
Ingesting these homemade or ‘black market’ concoctions can be extremely harmful. These substances are not prepared in sterile labs by professionals but rather by a guy down the street. These THC samples could be contaminated with other substances or come in contact with bacteria or other harmful particles. There is no way to know the composition of the substance being added to the e-liquid and has no regulations to ensure safety.
Please do not risk your health for a cheaper product. It is important to buy from reputable sources where you can be assured there is quality control and federal and state imposed regulations to ensure that these substances are safe to ingest.