Engl 102

September 3, 2019

ILA #1

In this day and age of electronic cigarettes, are they any more harmful than traditional

cigarettes? What qualifies something as an epidemic? Several news outlets, such as New York

Times and NBC, have branded vaping synonymously with disease, both with similar headlines

found easily through a quick google search. “The Mysterious Vaping Illness That’s ‘Becoming

an Epidemic,’” written by Sheila Kaplan and Matt Richtel for New York Times, and “Michigan

bans flavored e-cigarettes to curb youth vaping epidemic,” written by Erika Edwards for NBC

News, both convey an attempt to scare the public by comparing vaping to illness. These sources

are credible because they are both major news outlets with large followings and a commitment to

reporting stories that will raise profits, which they couldn’t do if the public found out they were

spreading “fake news.”

My NYT source was written in response to a particular case of lung damage and vomiting

found in an 18-year-old boy. It addresses and links more than 215 similar cases, with most

patients in their teens and early twenties. This comes at a time when teens vaping is at an all-time

high, and more research is being done into the effects of vaping on the lungs. It is thought that

one possible cause could be the suspension of non-vaporized oils in the lungs causing an

inflammatory response. This article places particular blame on THC cartridges being dispensed

and sold in states where medicinal and/or recreational marijuana has been recently legalized

without a proper way of regulation.

The NBC article was written to inform the public of the reasoning behind a new law in

Michigan. It prohibits the sale of all e-cigarette flavors, both online and in-store, except for
tobacco. This is an attempt to curb teens from getting their hands on flavors such as “Fruit

Loops, Fanta and Nilla Wafers,” and therefore lessening their appeal. It states in the article that

one of the reasons is because e-cigarettes can deliver nicotine at twice the rate of a normal

cigarette. Also mentioned is a case in which an e-cigarette user died from respiratory illness,

although the exact cause could not be pinpointed. The passing of this law is particularly timely in

an era where vaping (nicotine or THC) is the norm.

This topic is important to me because I know people that use electronic cigarettes

personally, and I wouldn’t want to see any of them be hurt unknowingly. I, like many others, had

previously thought that vaping was a safer alternative to smoking. I hope to find a conclusive

answer to whether or not vapes are truly more dangerous than traditional cigarettes, especially

since the majority of patients in cases against electronic cigarettes tend to be younger people, in

comparison with the known health problems in older people from cigarettes. In conclusion, this

research matters because as teen vaping continues to rise, it’s important to know the health risks

associated with it.

 Works Cited

Edwards, Erika. “Michigan Bans Flavored e-Cigarettes to Curb Youth Vaping

Epidemic.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 4 Sept. 2019,
https://www.nbcnews.com/.

Kaplan, Sheila, and Matt Richtel. “The Mysterious Vaping Illness That's 'Becoming an
Epidemic'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 31 Aug. 2019,
https://www.nytimes.com/.