News | October 2nd, 2019

Vaping Taking Its Toll

By: James Thomas

Vaping is killing or harming a new person at a daily rate yet researchers are still short on a solution. The death toll has risen to 15 people and there have been more than 800 cases of lung illness linked to vaping across the country. Vaping is marketed as a safer way to get nicotine in the body. Instead of using cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products, you would use an e-liquid containing nicotine and pour it in the device. The coil and atomizer heats up your e-liquid which will vaporize whatever substance is in the pen, allowing the user to inhale.

“That’s the big thing. It really helps people come off of cigarettes or cigars,” said Jessica Vollrath, employee at Vape On. “It’s definitely a healthier alternative.”

Ingredients inside of the e-liquid are substances that people already encounter on a day-to-day basis. Propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin are the two main ingredients. Vegetable glycerin is naturally derived, and propylene glycol is a medical grade product. The flavorings in the liquids are the same as the flavorings put in deserts.

“I’ve been vaping for about five years now and I haven’t had a problem,” said Victor Stokes, a vape user. “I feel like the biggest problem is that people abuse the product.”

There are different liquids that have different concentrations. The higher concentrated cartridges are, the easier it is for users to abuse. Most vape stores carry three standard liquids: CBD, a standard e-liquid and a salt nicotine. Much like anything that you partake in, you are to use them responsibly.

The biggest legal vaporizer under fire is the Juul. The difference between a Juul and other

vaporizer products is that a Juul uses salt nicotine. Salt nicotine goes through crystallization, making it a stronger product. A standard e-liquid is a lower dosage compared to the salt nicotine. One cartridge of the salt nicotine is equivalent to one pack of cigarettes. If you smoked one pack of cigarettes a day before switching to a vaporizer, then that cartridge is meant to last you the entire day. Some people may be going through one cartridge in one sitting.

There are still people becoming ill or dying from using these products and have not abused them.

“I’ve had one bad experience with my vape,” Christopher Randolph says, “It was when I used a cartridge that had THC in it.”

Almost all the cases of the lung illness have been linked to someone under 25 and three fourths of those afflicted are men. The cases linked to nicotine are linked to the abuse of the product, while cases due to THC are due to contamination.

THC cartridges are standard e-liquids bought either in store or online in bulk. The product is then laced with THC and resold on the black market. The problem with buying online, is that it may not have the same ingredients as it would in store. Cyanide was found in a cartridge from Korea.