Vaping Fearmongers & Their Danger

As with all things new, there is an element of fear. “Vaping isn’t new anymore” we hear you call, and you are of course correct. Compared to smoking, however, vaping is relatively new. Between that and the way that the vaping industry and associated devices and technology are changing daily vaping might seem new to some people. This is completely understandable. What isn’t as understandable or as forgivable is the actions of vaping fearmongers. Their spread of misinformation could catastrophic. The need for more vaping positivity is clear.

Vaping and Bad Press

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock recently you will no doubt have heard about the EVALI outbreak in the USA, a respiratory illness that made a lot of people sick and killed others. A truly devastating and unavoidable tragedy. The long-term prognosis of those who were confirmed to have EVALI is still unknown. 

Newspapers around the world called it a vaping disease and the vaping fearmongers had a field day. This was what some had been waiting for. Proof that vaping was a bad idea and should be eliminated. As it happens, the cause of the EVALI outbreak was not down to “normal” vaping. A fact confirmed by the CDC in the USA that has been overlooked by those trying to make a negative point.

It has now been confirmed that EVALI was caused by illegally made e liquid, bootleg e liquid that has been produced criminally. The aim of this bootleg e juice was to provide a high as it contained THC, the psychotropic compound that comes from the cannabis plant. What this dodgy e liquid also contained was Vitamin E Acetate, a preservative. This preservative, alongside the THC, is what scientists have confirmed as the cause.  

Of course, the damage done by the vaping fearmongers during this time has been substantial. While here in the UK we haven’t felt the waves so keenly there is no doubt that confidence in vaping in the US will have taken a knock. There would have been concerns of course but the sensationalist headlines and professional and enthusiastic vaping naysayers have muddied the waters, rather than allowing the CDC and associated agencies to get on with doing their job and report accurately once the cause of the illnesses had been officially confirmed. 

Vaping headlines have not been limited to the US, however. Here in the UK, around the EU and in other vaping countries headlines about blowing up e cigarettes and so on have been great at boosting newspaper sales and earning clicks and likes online. Rarely do vape fearmongers check facts or listen to alternative views or indeed evidence. Once the press has something that will cause outrage or fear when reported in a sensationalist and often irresponsible way, there is no stopping some people from running those stories.

The press can influence people which is just one of the reasons that vaping fearmongers can be dangerous.

What if Vaping Was Banned?

Some would like nothing more than to see vaping banned, for various reasons. If this were to happen the consequences could be devastating. Few people start vaping before being a smoker. The majority switch over to using e cigarettes and flavoured e liquids so that they can kick the tobacco cigarette habit. Tobacco cigarettes have been proven without a doubt to be highly harmful to health. The World Health Organisation has classified a large number of chemicals found within cigarettes as being toxic and as having the potential to cause cancer. This is quite damning news and it, alongside other positive reports regarding vaping prompted many to move over to e cigarettes. 

If vaping were banned it is easy to estimate that a good number of vapers would return to being smokers. The health implications of this, not to mention the short, mid and long-term consequences to the NHS don’t bear thinking about. Those returning to smoking would effectively be shortening their lifespans, increasing their risks of many health issues, would be putting themselves in financial difficulties and more. 

It is estimated that vaping has helped a lot of people quit smoking. It has also been reported that in 2018 around seventy-eight thousand people here in the UK died due to smoking-related issues. No-one was reported to have died as a result of vaping.

If vaping were to disappear tomorrow the fallout would be significant. This doesn’t seem to be something the vaping fearmongers seem to have considered.

Why Do Some People Hate Vaping So Much

Sometimes the answer to this is fear, sometimes it is about nostalgia and sometimes vaping fearmongering is about something more strategic, such as politics or profit. 

When someone doesn’t understand something or doesn’t understand it fully there is a tendency to either ignore its very existence or to fear it. That’s a natural reaction and we understand it. This is why the vaping industry is so pleased to see official bodies such as Public Health England approve of vaping as an alternative to smoking and to see great content online and off offering authentic, real and easy to understand information about what vaping is and what it isn’t. Only through education can we combat fear. This is true of all things, not just e liquid and e cigarette related topics.

Some people will happily confirm that the reason that they dislike vaping is that they don’t like these new-fangled tech things. Cigarettes were fine back in the day and doctors weren’t telling people then that they were dangerous. Even as a non-smoker or ex-smoker some people prefer the old ways to new and the only thing that will change that viewpoint will be time.

Possibly the most dangerous reason for vaping fearmongering is to influence people. We’re not talking about educating the public about some perceived danger, we’re talking about scoring points at work, in politics, and swerving favour back towards cigarettes, if that is the industry that people spreading vaping fear is connected to.

 We’ve already established that vaping headlines are great for traffic online and it is clear that by influencing the public a certain way can be advantageous to many who are lobbying for power. The idea that someone would try and swerve people away from a smoking alternative that could save their lives by allowing them to walk away from smoking is reprehensible but certainly not unheard of.

Vaping Fearmongers & Their Danger: In Conclusion

There are many reasons that fearmongering when it comes to the use of e cigarettes is concerned can be described as a bad idea. There are consequences to pushing your opinion on someone or using fear to encourage them to move in a different direction, especially when that direction might be one that could cause harm to health and ultimately premature death. By spreading mistruths or information that hasn’t been fact-checked, i.e. so-called “fake news” fearmongers undo the very good work undertaken by numerous health organisations, charities, scientists, researchers and more.

Our advice to anyone reading who is considering vaping or simply want to know more about it is to be very careful where you get your information from. Read the vaping review from Public Health England, talk to vapers, read articles from trusted sources and make your own mind up rather than being influenced by vaping fearmongers. If you have any question for the team here at Hangsen E Liquid please don’t hesitate to get in touch.