Misleading News about Vaping after a Man’s Death
Mass media have spread misleading news about vaping (one more time…) after a man died in Illinois (US). He was hospitalized with severe lung illness and it has been pointed by media as the first death linked to vaping. It is not the only case though, there are 193 cases of lung illness reported in August. All patients are said to have shown symptoms. Such as; shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and chest pain before being taken to hospital.
The Director of Illinois, Department of Public Health Dr. Ngozi Ezike said the severity of the illnesses is “alarming” and warned the public that vaping “can be dangerous”.
The death of this man from Illinois happened days after another young man was induced to coma after vaping illegal substances bought off the street. He was also suffering from lung damage after vaping what is believed to be THC from a dodgy vape device bought from a street dealer.
According to a statement published by the American Vaping Association, the illnesses could due to products containing cannabis or synthetic drugs.
Man’s Death
It is intriguing that all the cases were reported in the US. But none have been reported in any other country. Why almost 200 cases of severe lung illness are linked to vaping only in the US in such a short period of time (they were all reported this summer)?
The media and health organizations are liking this to vaping instead of the substances inside the vaporizers? Is it true that vaping is now causing severe lung illnesses in such a short time when people have been vaping for more than 10 years?
After reading news from different newspapers worldwide, I could not find clear answers. Media seem to be more interested in blaming vaping itself than the potentially harmful substances some are putting inside those vape cartridges.
Vaporizers are made to be used with e-liquid. E-liquid contains vegetable glycerin, Propilineglycol, flavourings and nicotine (optional). Nothing else, and it is not advised to use any other type of liquid or oil inside because vapes are simply not, made for that.
The long term effects of vaping (with legal and controlled e-liquid) are still unknown. There is scientific evidence that vaping is 95% safer than regular smoking. For me, it is hard to believe that vaping is causing all this damage so quickly. In my opinion, some serious investigation about these cases must be done before damaging the name of vaping.
Man’s Death
Media play an important role in society and half-true news can be very harmful. In this case, the name of vaping has been defamed with no further research and investigations. This is exactly the opposite of what a good journalist practice should be. Hopefully, we will find out soon enough what is really causing this lung damage in America.
As usual, we would like to hear your opinion about this, so please leave a comment down below! Your opinion is important to us!
Alfonso Melero
Content creator and marketer. Originally from Spain, I lived a few years in Scotland and China where I started to work for the vaping industry. Vaping is not only a profession for me but also a passion. I quit smoking thanks to vaping almost 3 years ago. I helped many smokers to switch to vaping since as I am convinced vaping is a much healhier alternative to tobbaco smoking.
