Do you vape? Do you juul? I really hope not. It’s unhealthy, and it can do more harm than you may think.

The CDC reported the first death linked to vaping this week. Recently, at least 22 people have been hospitalized in the United States due to vaping-related illnesses. They have been having severe lung problems, and most of these people are teenagers and young adults. There have been 12 cases in Wisconsin, six cases in Illinois, and four cases in Minnesota. All these cases have one thing in common: vaping nicotine or marijuana. One teenager had to be put into a medically induced coma. Another teenager told DailyMail.com that he had a collapsed lung due to vaping. The slew of sick e-cigarette users comes just after a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report revealed that at least 127 Americans have had vaping-related seizures. 

80% of surveyed Bob Jones students agreed that vaping is dangerous. Senior Nathan Humpal said, “It contains chemicals that can cause brain damage, and nicotine addiction is not a great thing to have.” Studies have shown that there are worse chemicals in vapes than in regular tobacco cigarettes. Chemicals found in vaping fluid are acrylonitrile, acrolein, propylene oxide, acrylamide, and crotonaldehyde. “Acrylonitrile is a highly poisonous compound used widely in the manufacture of plastics, adhesives and synthetic rubber,” this website has stated. Acrolein “is toxic to humans following inhalation, oral or dermal exposure,” the Environmental Protection Agency said. Propylene oxide and crotonaldehyde are probable carcinogens, the EPA said, while acrylamide’s role in causing cancer is more controversial.

People who vape can develop popcorn lung. Popcorn lung is a medical condition that damages the bronchioles, the lung’s smallest airways. Popcorn lung is also known as obliterative bronchiolitis, bronchiolitis obliterans, or constrictive bronchiolitis. Popcorn lung can be mistaken for a different condition called bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia. The symptoms of popcorn lung may be subtle and therefore easy to overlook, and the condition may be mistaken for other lung diseases. People with other respiratory conditions, especially chronic conditions such as asthma, may not be able to tell new symptoms apart from long-term complaints. 

Vaping is dangerous, and if you do it, get help. Because the nicotine can be much stronger in a vape or a juul than in a cigarette, it may be more difficult to quit than you think. The sooner you stop, the better you’ll eventually feel. Better yet, don’t start in the first place.