Earlier this week American teenager Maddie Nelson was in intensive care, fighting for her life. Why? Because she experienced some serious deterioration of her lungs after vaping every day for three years.
The 18-year-old was suffering a high fever, kidney pain and was struggling to breathe. She was put into a medically induced coma for three days and was eventually diagnosed with acute Eosinophilic Pneumonia, caused by vaping. Although she still requires treatment and monitoring, she is lucky to be alive. It’s a pretty full on scenario.
This isn’t the first vaping related incident this year though; in August we saw the world’s first death from the smoking-replacement. A young American man developed a fatal lung disease after actively using e-cigarettes. Health officials have since spoken out and issued warnings against the dangers of vaping.
Unfortunately, up until recently we just haven’t been aware of what vaping actually does to our bodies. Our generation has become the sort of ‘test dummies’ in determining the long term effects.
So Why Exactly Should You Stop Hitting The Juul?
There’s lots of debate around vaping and whether or not its a good idea. Vaping is promoted as an alternative to smoking that is better for you, but that doesn’t mean its actually good for you.
Vaping hasn’t been around long enough for us to fully understand it’s long-term side effects. However, in the past few years there have been several different studies on the effects of vaping. Over 800 have determined that the inhalation of harmful toxins and chemicals in vapes does in fact cause irreversible lung damage. In some cases, causing lung disease and cardiovascular disease.
There are also risks involved with inhaling second hand vape smoke – no, seriously. Chemicals similar to that found in a car exhaust are found in the second hand vape (see ya, Vape Nation).
Vaping can also be crazy addictive due to to nicotine content inhaled through the e-cigarette. The liquid is apparently metabolised more quickly in our bodies than through a regular cigarette, making it even more addictive.
The Future Of The Vape
Interestingly enough, New Zealand plans to release a ‘Vape To Quit,’ campaign in November. The campaign aims to convince smokers to make the switch over to vaping. While it’s true that vaping is definitely better for you than smoking, it’s clear that the health risks are still super high.
The CEO of Juul literally spoke out in an interview last week, telling people not to start using their products. He admitted that kids should not be vaping unless they already have a preexisting relationship with nicotine.
The point is, vaping is NOT good for your health, and it’s probably time to retire your Juul for good.
Click here to donate to Maddie’s recovery and vape awareness fund.
Image sources: GoFundMe / Andrea Fullmer
