While vaping and e-cigarette use has been on the rise since the early 2000’s, it has abruptly blown up our TV screens and social media feeds within the past three  months – all as a result of the rise in the popularity of the Juul e-cigarette brand and the rise of illnesses and deaths of teens that it has caused throughout the nation. Spanning from late August to October, 33 people have died as a result of vaping, which raises the question: since vaping has been prevalent throughout this past decade, why are people suddenly becoming severely ill or even dying as a result of it within these past two months as opposed to any time within the past few years?

With the recent news of over a thousand cases of “mysterious lung disease” and deaths caused by vaping, there are countless risks held to the millions of teen vapers in the United States, according to the Los Angeles Times. The hardest factor in preventing them from taking their first hit or quitting is that they do not know the real consequences that could impact their bodies forever. 

With the idea that vaping is the positive alternative to smoking tobacco cigarettes, most teens do not recognize that it can have an even worse impact than regular smoking due to the fact that vaping consists of heated fluid versus dry smoke, causing life-threatening actions in the lungs of a vaper to take place faster than the lungs of a cigarette smoker. With the liquid replacement, the chemicals compete more with the oxygen intake of the body, preventing fresh air from circulating through the rest of the body. As the smoke chemicals reach the lungs and continue to infect them, the internally damaged structure leads to various breathing problems that can cause one’s lungs to expand to the unhealthy size of two blown-up plastic bags. 

Teens are given a false sense of security without the knowledge of the effects, thinking that they are okay with the different, safer versions of cigarettes – the killers of 480,000 people a year in the past, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With this kind of impact on communities of regular tobacco smokers, it begs the question of how much this number will increase for those who continue vaping. 

In fact, one pod used to fill a Juul, one of the various kinds of devices used to vape, is worth one pack of cigarettes or 200 puffs from one. 

“Here’s the dangerous line that all teens are balancing on,” Dr. Joseph H. Musich, a chiropractor, said. “They see all their friends vaping at parties or on social media and think that it’s trendy and cool. So, they give in and end up getting addicted while thinking to themselves, ‘Nothing bad can happen to me. Everyone else is doing it and they’re fine.’ Yet, none of them know that their actions are damaging their bodies and lungs from the inside out. They just don’t know it.”

His hope is that, with the knowledge of how much vaping can affect them, others will heed the warning as they discover how their bodies are reacting to the chemicals. 

According to the CDC, the abrupt epidemic of deaths linked to vape and e-cigarette use has been spurred by unknown causes, but others speculate that many vaping products have been tampered with or poisoned by e-cigarette dealers. The majority of the victims of the epidemic were under the age of 21 at the time of their death, which means that many of them only had access to e-cigarettes through their friends, untrustworthy dealers, and even the black market. Therefore, it is unclear whether the true harm has come from poisoned or tainted vapes, or the nicotine itself. 

This unanticipated epidemic has not only shocked and saddened the teenagers and their families of the nation, but has also terrified many teen vapers to the point where they feel the need to quit. The e-cigarette market has been negatively affected by the ample supply of articles and news segments provided by the media, as the coverage has driven hundreds of buyers away from buying vape products as a whole. 

On September 25, Juul CEO Kevin Burns abruptly stepped down from his position as concerns over the safety of vaping began to arise. Juul has also stopped selling all fruit-flavored vape products online, and has made them available only for purchase in-stores. The government has also discussed banning e-cigarettes in order to protect underaged citizens, with states such as  Massachusetts, Michigan, and New York already taking action by banning or placing higher taxes on vape products. 

Some argue that banning all products may end up creating a more dangerous situation, as it will cause the sale of untrustworthy black market vapes and e-cigarettes to rise. On the other hand, banning these products may drastically decrease e-cigarette use amongst all Americans, but especially those who are underage.

Overall, the death-by-vaping epidemic has hit the nation with a wave of concern, shock, and motivation to take action against all vaping and use of e-cigarettes. While many argue that vaping is a safer alternative to cigarette use, nobody can truly identify its long-term or short-term effects, which these recent deaths may be proving. Therefore, in order to avoid any potential consequences, it is advised to stay away from all vape and e-cigarette products – nobody truly knows the toll it could take on its users.