Many people assume that vaping is less harmful than inhaling burning tobacco. However, this truly gives off a false impression to society, particularly a majority of adolescents, that because in the short-term, it is safer, it is okay to do it. That is very much false, and after reading this article, I can thoroughly explain the negative effects of both, and present why one should never do either of them.
To start off, it is very widely known that smoking is very injurious to one’s health as they have taught us this in school ever since we were little. According to Smokefree-NHS, "Smoking causes 84% of deaths from lung cancer and 83% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)”. We also know that in the United States, smoking is the optimal cause of preventable death and that about half of all smokers die from smoking related causes. Sure, once we’ve learned about this in school, we know that we should avoid cigarettes. However, since e-cigarettes and vaping is a relatively new product, the negative effects have not been taught much in school. E-cigarettes tend to consist of a highly addictive drug called nicotine. This is why once someone starts to vape, it is very difficult to stop. According to the article Vaping Nicotine Linked To Increased Risk Of Chronic Lung Disease, the text states that “But at a time when 1 in 4 high school seniors reports vaping — and risks getting hooked on nicotine — this may be a tough needle to thread.” If there are about 1 in 4 high school seniors vaping, this is a huge issue to society. In the past, people used to think that e-cigarettes did not have a significant impact on one’s body, but in reality, it really does. After thorough research, we have now concluded that people using e-cigarettes have an increased risk of developing chronic lung disease, COPD, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, or asthma. Vaping can also lead to inflammation and decrease immune efficiency. True, vaping does not have an immense number of negative aspects in the short term, but in the long run, people that vape can develop many chronic diseases that lead to a shorter lifespan. Worst of all, some people both vape and smoke, which provide the negative effects of both methods into their body, which is fatal.
In my opinion, if schools were to provide all these negative aspects about vaping, I truly think it can decrease the number of students from using e-cigarettes. Better yet, if there were more campaigns globally, maybe fewer civilians, in general, would stop as well. Vaping and smoking have many risks and severities that can easily be preventable with proper education, to teach people not to do it. Afterall, one can’t get addicted to something they haven't tried. I believe that since there are so many chronic illnesses to smoking tobacco and vaping e-cigarettes, that our country should eventually ban them, and give rehabilitation to those addicted. It is honestly very upsetting going to school and over hearing people in the bathrooms discussing which vape flavors are the best, instead of focusing on their schoolwork. Hopefully, in the future, more of the population will understand how bad it is to smoke and vape, and eventually quit all together.