Smoking Kills: Now What?

Vapes are more popular than ever, erasing progress made with cigarettes

When the vape first hit the high street, it was boring. Generally accredited to the pharmacist Hon Lik, the invention of the commercial e-cigarette in 2001 was intended as a remedy for his smoking addiction. Hon wanted to make a difference, to benefit people and fix bad habits. Like many things, the origins of the modern vape began with too much optimism.

With its introduction to cigarette addicts, vaping was promoted as a miraculous cure for smoking rates. The number of cigarette smokers may have dropped, but, in reality, people were just as addicted — only this time to something new. Instead of the familiar paper-rolled tobacco, the public switched to electronic highlighters with a better taste. Blue raspberry, watermelon ice, and other nonsensical flavours line the shelves, featuring enough colours to overstimulate even the most iPad-addicted young toddler. No wonder they’re so popular with teenagers. When the market of ex-smokers ran out, the vaping industry had to get creative. Vapes are no longer the progressive sign of a quitting smoker and are instead a popular school-bag essential.

People have been consuming addictive substances like nicotine for thousands of years; it’s hardly a new practice. What I take specific concern with, however, is straying away from tradition. This is by no means an advertisement for the ‘benefits’ of smoking cigarettes, but my point is, we at least know their risks. Cigarettes and cigars have existed long enough for us to understand the consequences that occur 40-60 years down the line. It’s an informed choice: You can’t pick up a pack without being bombarded with scaremongering images. Vaping, on the other hand, has no such research because vapes haven’t existed for long enough — our generation is the future patient zero. The consequences are unknown and, as a result, their packaging displays no such brutal warnings, but boasts bright neon colours and sweet, fruity flavours. 

The risks, then, could take many by surprise: the most shocking of all being the Great Vape Fire of Glasgow. Forsyth House, a building that had stood since the mid-nineteenth century, was brought down in flames after a vape shop on the bottom floor caught fire. The building had survived not one but two world wars, with the second bringing targeted attacks towards Glasgow in the Clydebank Blitz. The incident, which happened only a couple of weeks ago, sparked other memories of the risks of e-cigarettes. I distinctly remember hearing about the risk of combustion when they were beginning to become more widespread. Now they’re in the hands of over 100 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation.

This fire should serve as a warning — not just for vaping, but for the unknown more generally. We should be cautious of new things, especially if they are flashy, addictive, and profitable. Besides the obvious health concerns, when there is such a high demand for things like vapes, manufacturing companies often sacrifice quality for cheaper labour or parts with disastrous consequences. People lost livelihoods in that fire, with many small business owners left stranded. 

Furthermore, disposable vapes pose many environmental risks. Despite the recent ban, consumer habits haven’t changed, with many still disposing of vapes after their first use — some shops don’t even sell refills. These problems, though not exclusive to vapes, should make us stop and think on a consumerist level: Are these plastic bits of tat worth their risks?

So if you step outside for a smoke break, take a moment to admire the architecture around you — even if it is the functionalist, brutalist nightmare of the library — because who knows how long it will be there. Then again, if coursework gets bad enough, maybe take your vape outside and try your luck.

Illustration from Wikimedia Commons