Have you seen the headlines this
week? As of September 6, vaping has links to multiple deaths in the US. Except
not exactly. Anyone who reads one of these articles can see the same link to a
recently published study. Let’s start with the facts. According to the CDC:
·
There are 450 possible cases of lung illness
associated with the use of vape products reported to CDC.
·
No specific substance or e-cigarette product links
to all cases.
·
Many patients admit to using products containing
cannabinoids (THC).
·
Youth and young adults should not use
e-cigarette products.
·
Women who are pregnant should not use
e-cigarette products.
·
Adults who do not currently use tobacco products
should not start using e-cigarette products.
·
If you do use e-cigarette products, you should
not buy these products off the street.
One chemical under suspicion is Vitamin
E. While safe for consumption, it is not approved for inhalation. The trouble
is, it’s not common in all types of products. Flavored juices are one market,
but many states already ban the use of the chemical. The introduction of THC
into the picture makes more sense.
Recreational marijuana is legal in
some states, but the federal government still classifies cannabis as a schedule
1 drug, the same level as heroin. The black market thrives as counterfeit vaping
products circulate. May packages resemble legal dispensary products, but could
be indistinguishable from harmful ones. This means dealers can sell people whatever
they want and claim it went through the same hoops as other manufactures. The
inconsistent stance from the federal and state governments leaves many people feeling
justified for their use of THC and ignore the advice of the CDC.
I’m not saying people
should smoke, but regulating the market consistently would close the opportunities
for real criminals to do damage. Blaming the vaping industry when they are
guilty is one thing, but those producers already have to abide by regulations. A
related issue would be the PR situation with Juul. The company made advertisements
targeting a youth market and had a settlement because of it. The rising number
of youth vaping is concerning, but failing to acknowledge the benefits of
vaping over cigarettes discounts the damage combustibles do to people. No nicotine
is good, but so is no cigarettes. It would make sense then to provide a consumer
with a safer alternative to the combustion of marijuana.
Instead, media headlines blame an industry
while ignoring the deeper issues. President Trumps move to ban flavors will
hurt the market of adults trying to make a switch. Legislation may help reduce
vaping or it could increase cigarette use. Only time and more research will
bring more insight.
I think this entire epidemic is absolutely insane—especially when the entire concept of vaping and electronic cigarettes, not to mention Juul specifically marketed their products as /safe/ alternatives to cigarettes. Ironically enough, with the current administration moving toward banning flavored vape products (as well as New York being the first state to completely ban e-cigs in general) people that were addicted to the nicotine in these products will inevitably turn to cigarettes (which we KNOW kill people). Furthermore, many of the cases in which people are sent to the hospital due to vaping is because of the vaping of illegal THC vape cartridges, which primarily are embedded with toxins that arise when the cheap metal is heated—NOT the THC. What nobody seems to realize is that the legalization of marijuana on a federal level will lead to the introduction of FDA-esque standards on a nationwide as well as a diminishing of homemade THC vape cartridges that are causing much of the publicized illnesses mentioned recently in the news.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to mention that these cheap cartridges are most likely not coming from legal medical & recreational dispensaries, but exported from Chinese retailers at lower costs and clearly lower quality.
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