Juul, Vaping, and Lung Disease
Vaping has become a dangerous hobby for teenagers and young adults, and has even taken over smoking in terms of teenager use. With discreet packaging and easy to access, fun flavors, children are able to vape very easily. This is dangerous because of the myriad of different chemicals in the aerosol that is inhaled. The liquid contains nicotine, volatile organic compounds, flavoring chemicals, and formaldehyde. One of the chemicals used for flavoring is called diacetyl, which is linked to bronchiolitis obliterans, or popcorn lung. This is the scarring of the air sacs in the lungs, which causes the air sacs to thicken and narrow. Popcorn factories used diacetyl in flavoring, and many people became very sick from it being in the air. The illness, bronchiolitis obliterans, became known as popcorn lung because of this.
Different cases of pulmonary disease and cancer have arisen in people who vape and some people have even died. Children who vape are also more likely to pick up regular smoking, which is far more dangerous. Even though vaping may be a slightly healthier alternative to smoking, it’s not good to start vaping if you never smoked before. Vaping is still an unhealthy activity, and people who pick up vaping without previously smoking are putting their lives at risk.
Juul e-cigarettes are even more problematic than regular e-cigarettes because they contain more than twice the level of nicotine, leading to a greater chance that kids become addicted. Juul pods are also equivalent to a pack of cigarettes, and kids go through more than one in a sitting. When going through these multiple pods, kids are ingesting dangerous amounts of nicotine, which is different from other e-cigarettes. The nicotine in Juul pods comes in the form of nicotine salts instead of freebase nicotine. This type of nicotine allows the nicotine to be more easily adsorbed into the blood stream. Juul pods also contain a larger amount of benzoic acid. This substance causes coughs, sore throats, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting when exposed to a large quantity of it, which happens when people vape using Juul pods.
Juul devices can be easily hidden and look like a USB drive. This allows students to bring them into school and discretely use them in the bathroom and while teachers are not looking. There is also a black market for Juul pods because the age limit to purchase them is 21 years old. Children are easily able to access unsafe levels of nicotine and other chemicals, and are becoming addicted at a young age.
If you or a loved one now has cancer or lung disease because of using a Juul or other vaping device, you may be entitled to compensation. Call us at 412-471-3980 or fill out our contact form to speak to one of our staff about a possible case.
