BY EMMIE SIROKY
There is a new trend among young adults as well as underage teens. Using vaporizers (also known as vapes or e-cigarettes) as an alternative to smoking cigarettes can be just as dangerous as smoking. Vapes have become a new craze. There are even shops that specialize in selling these products – with or without nicotine.
The devices work by placing a gel-like liquid in a section that heats up using a battery. The gel is available in many different flavours, including the classic cigarette flavour which causes it to appeal to a young audience. The starter kits for these devices range from $40 to $100, with the flavoured liquid ranging from $10 to $15.
The rumour is that it’s better to vape then to smoke regular cigarettes and it’s said that they are cheaper than smoking as well. If you do the math, it is cheaper to smoke these vaporizers, but it is in no way safer.
Recently, a teenager in Kitchener had an e-cigarette blow up in his face and set his friend’s car on fire. Sure, you can accidently drop a cigarette in your car and it will burn your seat, but it won’t blow up in your face. This teenager isn’t the only one who has had this happen to him. In January another teenager was taken to hospital for broken teeth, facial burns and an injured tongue when his e-cigarette also blew up in his face.
What we would like to know is how are teenagers legally buying these devices? When they first came out there was no age limit for purchasing them, but now, with the added option of nicotine, you must be 19 or older. However, even with this age limit, teens are still getting a hold of them.
When vaporizers first appeared, no one knew a lot about them. The companies that make them brag about how good they are for you and how everyone should try them, but they’re not. No one really knows where those chemicals are coming from, what they are or what the long-term effects are. It’s in no way healthy to inhale any kind of substance including those used in e-cigarettes.
It should be illegal to advertise these anywhere, just as it is with tobacco.
People need to check all the facts before they go out and spend the money on one of these. Making these devices in fun colours and fun flavours isn’t helping people to quit smoking, it’s helping young kids to start.
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