Every generation seems grab on to a product that scares the previous generation, i.e., the parents, Vaping, however, cuts across all generations. If you aren’t familiar with vaping, it is “the action of inhaling or exhaling the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device.”
You have probably seen the ads for vaping. One company, JUUL, which has about three-fourths of the market in the electronic cigarette market, has been advertising its product as a safer way to smoke. Many adults have used that product with the idea that it is safer when compared to using regular cigarettes with tar and nicotine. But is it?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in 2019 alone the reported number of deaths across the US has reached about 40, while the number of lung-injury cases surged over 2000 in 49 states, Washington DC, and the US Virgin Islands.
One study conducted on a small sample of individuals using e-cigarettes came out of the University of North Carolina. It concluded that that “e-cigarette alters the profile of innate defense proteins in airway secretions, inducing similar and unique changes relative to cigarette smoking.”
And cigarette smoking as we have learned has been conclusively linked to an increased risk of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
An estimated 5.3 million teens use e-cigarettes, which was the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling it an “epidemic.”
Federal investigators from the FDA have not confirmed what agents or combination of agents could be causing the illness, with the median age of patients who died was 53 years but ranged from 17 to 75 years.
“The studies on vaping, however, should be viewed in context,” explains personal injury lawyer Jeffrey J. Downey, serving Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland. “Long-time smokers view using e-cigarettes as a way to wean themselves from regular cigarettes, but they are causing a host of other more emergent problems.”
Concerns over vaping have entered the judicial courts as well. In Pennsylvania, the Montgomery District Attorney’s Office has filed a lawsuit against JUUL, calling its marking tactics “false and misleading,” that minors would become quickly addicted and that the company knowingly concealed potential side effects from the public while making a very large profit.
District Attorney Kevin Steele said that one single JUUL pod, contains the equivalent of the amount of nicotine in 20 cigarettes.
According to a study by the Journal of American Medical Association, one in four high school students and one in ten middle school students are currently vaping. “Parents with any child in high school also need to understand that potential adverse impact of early nicotine addition,” explains Downey.
The FDA is considering banning the flavored e-cigarettes, and JUUL has stopped selling some of its flavor but still allows the flavor of tobacco, menthol and mint to be sold.
Patients and families of injured Vaping products have already started to enter the legal system. Proving liability will often hinge on being able to explain what caused the failure of the product, explains Downey. If you or a loved one suffered a vaping related injury its important to save the device in its original form, without alteration, and seek timely medical care. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to vaping, contact the Law Office of Jeffrey J. Downey for a free consultation or visit www.jeffdowney.com. Serving Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC.
(Tags: Vaping, vape, JAMA, Journal of American Medical Association, personal injury, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, e-cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, smokers, smoking, lung disease, JUUL, COPD, cancer, lung cancer, personal injury attorney, Vaping attorney, Vaping injury)