In November of 2018 the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) signaled that the agency is trying to crack down on underage vaping calling this “A national health crisis”. This has caused Juul Labs, which is one of the largest manufacturers of e-cigarettes, to announce it is halting sales of flavored E-Cig products like mango, fruit, creme and cucumber at over 90 thousand retail locations according to USA Today.
Juul Labs also shut down its Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as halted any promotional advertising on twitter over criticism and allegations that Juul labs may be marketing to teens and young people, which is illegal under US advertising law.
The FDA plans to ban the sale of certain e-Cig flavors they believe appeal to younger people as well as implement stricter verification methods in online sales of e-Cig products. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) over 20 percent of high school students in the United States vape. That’s over 3 million high school students. E-Cigs were originally made to wean people off of smoking traditional cigarettes and were thought of as healthier due to the fact E-Cigs don’t contain tar or carbon monoxide like regular cigarettes, however; many think E-Cigs are completely harmless but they can actually be damaging to our health (even if the flavors don’t have nicotine). The truth is many flavors of E-Cigs contain other chemicals that are not safe. Many of these chemicals are known to cause cancers, lung disease, and heart disease. Also a study has shown that some vapes when heated and inhaled release formaldehyde which likely causes cancer and is used in many household products like laminated floors, plywood, glues, and some insulation. A few years ago the CDC found that many types of laminated floors sold through Lumber Liquidators that contained formaldehyde likely caused irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat as well as breathing trouble and layed out steps homeowners could take to reduce their exposure to formaldehyde. That’s just flooring it’s much more damaging when its breathed in through vaping.
Additionally, toxic metals have been found in the small metal coils that heat the liquid nitrogen used in vapes or E-Cigs. These toxic metals include Chromium, Manganese, Nickel, and Lead. Lead exposure can affect the brain during development leading to lower IQ and decreased potential for learning. Lead also cause kidney damage, hearing loss, vomiting, seizures, high blood pressure and a host of other problems according to the Mayo Clinic. There is no safe level for lead, any amount can be damaging. Lead use can also lead to miscarriages or negatively affect a developing baby in the womb causing a number of developmental disabilities to babies exposed to lead according to the Canadian Pediatric Society. Ultimately even though vaping negatively impacts the health of those who do it there is still a need for more research on this and most of the studies that have been done have only shown that E-Cigs are more dangerous than we thought before.