In a recent poll, BHS students came to a common consensus that vaping is bad for your health and that the products are toxic and cause numerous future health issues. In the same poll, although it was more divided, the majority seemed to weigh in that vaping is in fact a problem here at BHS, “Yes. I’m sick of the neutral restrooms having strawberry-scented clouds inside of them.”

Recently, vaping has been making headlines. It was originally advertised as something to help people stop the use of cigarettes. It was an excellent marketing strategy, making consumers addicted to their new products since cigarettes were becoming less and less popular the more educated the public became of their effects. What was advertised as a safe alternative is now headlining major news sources to have been the cause for serious illnesses and sometimes even death. The New York Times’s “vaping illness tracker” reported that there have already been 44 deaths related to illnesses caused as of the 21st of November. 

Doctors, researchers, and scientists have put in extensive research to find out the direct causes of the illnesses that have come out of vaping. Since it is a fairly new problem, there is not enough research to exactly prove anything, but this is what has been found:

According to the Washington Post, it has been found that people who vape could end up with acute respiratory distress syndrome which is a “life-threatening condition in which fluid builds up in the lungs and prevents the oxygen people’s bodies need to function from circulating in the bloodstream.”

The Healthline reported that “exposure to e-cigarette vapor can impair the lungs’ ability to fight viral infections like the flu” and mice, in less than a year, developed lung cancer after having been exposed to the harmful chemicals in vape products.

The most recent breakthrough has been studying the vitamin E acetate used in these products. While oil is usually harmless, the CDC reported, “research suggests when vitamin E acetate is inhaled, it may interfere with normal lung functioning.” The Washington State Board of Health has recently taken initiative on this new breakthrough through banning vape products with vitamin E acetate, according to the Spokesman. 

Overall, the research that has been done has been proving that vaping is not a safer alternative to smoking and has numerous negative impacts regarding lung health.