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Abigail Renteria
Karen Ayik
Writing 010
February 20th, 2015
Choose Your Poison: Cancer Stick or Vapor Stick
“Vaping followers”, “mod. juice cravers”, and “electronic cigarette midlife-crisisers”
there is a deadly truth about to unfold. Whether it’s sitting in the impulsively bought Corvette
by a midlife crisiser or in the Jansport backpack of a vaping follower, electronic cigarettes are
widespread. These perceived lifestyle essentials are nothing less than heating vaporizers
wrapped in aluminum with a dash of nicotine in most cases. The electronic cigarettes also
provide tobacco-free fun. Yet, the innocuous exporting of vapor to the air is not the authentic
reality anticipated by users. Let’s let the smoke clear for a second and take a glance at
something veracious and dependable. One in five deaths involve smoking, states the Center For
Disease Control and Prevention, or well known as the CDC. Jenny McCarthy and Stephen Dorff
wannabes, are you excluded from the statistic? Breathe somewhat easier; the relief is you are.
So now the topic is open for deliberation, will the electronic cigarette community be building
their own statistic? Paperbound cigarettes are first-degree murderers, while as vapor cigarettes
are manslaughters. Knowingly, the puffers let cigarettes carve their tombs. Traditional smokes
plan your death in a way. Oddly enough, that is the criteria to be a first-degree murderer. In
comparison, innocently, the Millennials trust their vapor pens not to stab them in the back,
accidently. If only those devil of a tech smokes could go up for trial; they would measure up to
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be nothing less than manslaughters. Electronic cigarettes do not escape the category of death
enablers, similar to narcotics and alcohol, since they are not U.S Food and Drug Administration
nor physician approved, as well as they are uncannily alike to traditional cigarettes.
Let’s “rise from the ashes” and peer into why some paramount, even faithful sources,
such as the U.S Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and various licensed physicians, look
down upon the latest craze. For starters, it is just that in itself. Electronic cigarettes are the
latest with their modern appeal. They did not weasel their way into the American market until
2007 (Ever Smoke). Since these mock cigs have not been around for a considerable amount of
time, compared to other substances, the FDA actually does not know the potential risks and
safety involved when it comes to vaping (FDA). The unknown facts continue. How much
nicotine is truly being inhaled and brought into the body by the mechanism under trial? Eight
years of direct availability to consumers cannot reveal the magic amount (FDA). Well, that is
alarming for users. For the information and fact fanatics, there are some knowns however.
Reported through an online health forum, HealthTap.com, Dr. Heidi Fowler and Dr. Pamela
Pappas agree that vapor pens are unsafe. Fowler mentions how substances, such as these,
irritate the airway (Health Tap). It is highly considerable that unnecessary irritation to the
airway can be threatening and even dangerous. Who knew that breathing with agitation could
be dubbed as unsafe. This must be the reason why several doctors discourage electronic
cigarettes. Not quite. Formaldehyde, better known as CH2O, content is the debate settler in this
brawl. Dr. Alan Waternberg reveals that studies have shown CH2O to be existent in the puff
puff pens (Health Tap). Wheezing, nausea, and skin irritation occur after exposure to the
harmful chemical (National Cancer Institute). Joe Nocera contrasts the view concluding
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formaldehyde may only be released at high voltages, and that smokers would not use at such a
voltage. This deviation is not true in all circumstances though. From personal regret, more often
than not, high voltages were reached and users, including myself, experienced formaldehyde
contact. Queasiness and breathless gasping followed the exposure. The symptoms were
identical to the National Cancer Institute’s research. Whether the chemical interaction was on
purpose by idiotic teenagers or due mechanical error, high voltages are easily accessible and
not deemed as uncommon. The U.S Food and Drug Administration along with credible
physicians disprove of the use of faux cigs for those very reasons. The lack of acceptance in the
health community for the pens is just one parallel to old fashioned cigs.
Analogous again to traditional cigarettes, the almost lung darts carry some common
ingredients and features to their predecessor. Shockingly, one out of the four thousand
chemical components in regular stogs happens to also be CH2O (QuitSmokingSupport.com).
Unbelievable. No new age hipster wants to be smoking the revamped substance of yester-year.
Besides that, CH2O is formaldehyde after all, so electronic cigarettes and conventional smokes
have the same exact toxin; therefore, they must bond over the same side effects from that very
toxin revealed previously. Even though electronic cigarettes can brag and boast about their
tobacco-free motto labeled sometimes larger than the brand name that does not segregate nor
isolate them from regular puffs. Mayo Clinic’s own Lowell Dale confirms the resemblance
between cigarette cousins through their ingredients further. Both types of black lung provokers
carry carcinogens and nicotine in varied stashes. Carcinogens are hazardous and menacing since
they are a well-known cancer causing substance (Dale). The Dennis the Menace of health
presides in the many electronic cigarette admirers. Following that death antagonist comes
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nicotine, or C10H14N2. PreventDisease.com astonishingly rates nicotine as the third most
addictive component in existence. Cocaine, a green-eyed jealous seventh place runner up, has
more severe and serious side effects compared to others on the list. Yet, in the showdown
between nicotine and cocaine, the major and well-known cigarette ingredient reigns supreme.
Alcohol follows after cocaine with sixth place. The substance that is notorious for brutality and
the destruction of friendships on the Real House Wives genre is less addictive still in contrast to
nicotine. Appallingly, the fifth most addictive substance is crystal meth. The drug coaches the
brain into wanting it more, but once again nicotine is dominating. Nicotine, which is rolled up
and sold in every gas station, Wal-Mart, and cigarette super supply, is stagnant in addictive
qualities. (Prevent Disease). Consequently, e-cig enthusiasts and stoggie blowers fall prey to the
enslaving chemical. The two kinds of cigarettes connect and relate through their ingredients
and intimidating side effects.
With the deadly truth finally unfolded, electronic cigarettes can be identified and
recognized as the similar to traditional cigarettes. Yet, the argument is not whether the two are
equals to one another, but more that they fit into equal categories. Manslaughters can be
compared as less harsh to first-degree murderers, but conclusively they are both murderers.
Though electronic cigarettes are described as tobacco-free, they are not nicotine,
formaldehyde, nor carcinogen ridden. Furthermore electronic cigarettes follow in their
predecessor’s footsteps with a lack of approval from the U.S Food and Drug Administration as
well as various physicians. Consider the fatal ingredients and absence of health credentials as
warnings to consumers. Hit the worried faced Emojis vapor cigarette devotees; the death
statistic is not far behind.
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