Vaping: A New Way of Life. (Or Maybe Death)

Everywhere I go, I can almost always find at least one source from which little puffs of smoke rise and dissipate. In close quarters with the right lighting, I see smokey streams drifting to the ceiling, dancing slightly with the movements below.

 

It reminds me of Audrey Hepburn and the movies of her time, shrouded in an ever constant haze of smoke. Nobody knew just how lethal those enjoyable white sticks of toxins really were. The glamor of the 50's, when nearly every arm in America was perpetually cocked and red embers winked at the end of the cigarettes between their fingers as they unknowingly smoked away years of their life. In cars, in restaurants, in theaters, and even in nurseries. Foggy ceilings and constant gray clouds of breath.

 

Just like today. Only this generation is wiser. We learned from their mistakes. We watched our grandparents in hospital beds, we witnessed the dramatized advertisements in health class, and we grimaced at the scent of tobacco as we passed on the streets. We know better than to sicken ourselves with such an obvious ailment. Instead, we puff on an alternative. A safer, smarter alternative.

 

 

 

Electronic Cigarettes.

What makes these devices a safe option, void of consequences?

“Look it up,” they always reply. “I think if you could enlighten yourself with some research, you'd come to find that there have been countless studies performed. And guess what?”

I wait, because I'm assuming the question is rhetorical, or they may not have the opportunity to boast their mature and infinite wisdom.

“The FDA hasn't found a single side effect. Not a single danger. Nobody has discovered any credible evidence that vaping is bad for you. Look it up.”

I have. And they're right. Despite their research, the FDA has been unable to find any potential negative side effects. (Aside from the expected shortness of breath and other typical results of inhaling anything other than clean air.) They continue to perform tests, to seek out the threat, but from what I can tell, the process is a slow one and they have been at it for years.

In the year of 2003, the electronic cigarette was first developed in Beijing, China by Hon Lik. Twelve years later, they stand as a popular trend here in the U.S.. The trend is widely believed to be completely harmless. Our reasoning? Vaping is perfectly safe, because the dangers have not yet been discovered.

Did you know that the first commercial cigarette was invented in 1865? Pay attention to these dates, please. 1865.

In 1881, the industry exploded with James Bonsack and his advanced machinery and production methods. Within five years, the market was bringing in an estimated one billion dollars annually. In 1944, cigarette production had risen to about three hundred billion every year.

And in the year of 1964, eighty three years after Bonsack's revolution, the surgeon general of the U.S. discovered and revealed the dangers of cigarettes, claiming that they lead to lung cancer and other terminal diseases. The next year, exemplary labels were added to the cartons and warnings against the dangers of smoking began appearing in the media. Finally, in the early 1980's, restrictions were implemented on the product and its usage.

From 1881 to 1980, every glamorous arm in America was perpetually cocked. Embers that shined like rubies winked from billions of cigarettes across the country. It took us a total of ninety nine years to understand the magnitude of the death that those pleasant, little sticks evoked.

99 years from the rise of the industry and 115 years from the very first commercial cigarette.

As you sit there, puffing on your electronic cigarette while you research the dangers, thousands of others do the same. All over America, today's profoundly wise and cautious generation fill the skies with gray clouds of breath, reveling in the safety of their release and shaking their heads at those who taint the air with the stench of tobacco.



 Do me a favor and smack yourself for being such an ignorant moron. Yes, I'm calling you a moron. You, your friends, your family, and anyone else you know that vapes. Including myself.

I willingly admit that I, too, have unwittingly bound myself to such an unpredictable, addicting, and convenient habit. I pack around my beautiful, absurdly expensive, high quality pink ProVari, complete with juice as sweet as candy. I understand, just like everyone else, that these tiny machines are dangerously addicting, but we cannot use this excuse to justify pure stupidity. We inhale a mix of toxins that are burned at an incredibly high voltage because an individual in a white lab coat has yet to tell us that, “those are going to kill you.”

Why are we comfortable with filling our lungs with chemicals? Why do we need someone to tell us that we will literally DIE before we decline a new trend? Let's put a stop to this new wave of sickness. Let us make a stand for this generation and prove that we are not as reckless and arrogant as our reputation claims. Acknowledge history with the respect it has earned and learn from the mistakes we have witnessed first hand.

Not interested? How about this?

I think we can all agree that America's behavior doesn't exactly place us in the top 5 most intelligent countries. Shut up; don't get all defensive. It's blatantly obvious, you fantastic patriot. Let's take a look at what the rest of the world thinks about the revolution of vaping.

The concept was introduced to America in 2006-2007.

In 2008, Turkey's health ministry banned the sale and importation of e-cigarettes. The following year, countless similar restrictions are implemented in places such as Australia, Canada, Jordan, Panama, Israeli, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and even Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Department of Health banned electronic cigarettes and enforced a maximum penalty of a HK$100,000 fine and two years' imprisonment. Can you believe that? Of all people, Hong Kong is the region to threaten such drastic consequences for the sale or importation of a product that originated in China! Very sneaky sabotaging, China. We totally fell for it. Well done.

In the following years, bans and substantial fines were also set in Thailand, Singapore, Argentina, Venezuela, and Holland.

What about America? What did we do during this time?

New York forbid indoor usage of E-cigs, New Jersey added the product to their Public Smoking Ban, and Oregon sued a supporting company called, Smoking Everywhere, for “targeting the youth and misleading consumers.” California even passed a bill to ban the sale of the product, but their governor terminated it. Ha! Get it? Terminated. Because . . . because of The Terminator. Ha. Do you understand the . . . Do you get the joke?

Okay, anyway! Bans, fines, and restrictions have been created all over the world against the revolution of the electronic cigarette for various reasons. China - where the first E-cig was born - will basically ruin your life if you're caught selling or importing those things.

Are you STILL unconvinced? If you refuse to acknowledge history, if you chose to ignore the warnings that resonate from all over the world, and you absolutely need someone to tell you that smoking your vape is going to kill you, then allow me.

Person, smoking that e-cig in your hand is literally going to kill you. Get rid of it. Too addicted? Decrease the amount of nicotine point, by point, until you are sitting at a gratifying 0%. And then, break out the suckers. When you get the craving to fill your throat with smoke, grab a blue raspberry lollipop. (I've found this method to be most affective in my venture to kick the habit. It works wonders.) If you falter, don't give up. It's never too late to put an end to a bad habit. And make no mistake, smoking anything is a bad habit. Vaping is in no way conducive to your health.

What's that? Prove it? Well, I think it goes without saying that inhaling a fried concoction of chemicals is bad for you. I can't prove that vaping will kill you or plague you with an incurable disease, but answer me this:

Can you prove that it wont?