- We've talked about vaping before on this channel.
But with this many people getting sick,
I think it's time to take another deep dive.
Bewhoop!
(hypnotic hiphop music)
What's going on right now with the vaping situation
is just absolutely absurd.
We have about 500 cases in 33 states
of individuals suffering with lung illness
that is suspected to be caused by vaping.
And the scariest part, up to five deaths have been reported
with the same type of lung injury.
They're having a chemical inflammation in their lungs,
and the only thing that they're doing
that could possibly cause it is vaping.
These are not elderly folks with lung disease
or those suffering with pneumonia.
We're having young people who are otherwise healthy
being admitted into the intensive care unit,
put on breathing machines just because they were vaping.
- [Narrator] He was hospitalized this week.
- I'm 18 years old.
My lungs are like a 70-year-old's.
- Why is this happening now?
Many people have speculated that, oh,
it's because we're more likely to recognize
that people may be vaping and ask the question,
therefore, identify more cases.
Well, last year,
when we were asking the same vaping question,
we didn't see this uptick in cases.
This is a genuine uptick, and there's been studies actually
that have been done on this and proven this to be true.
I think two reasonable things that can be happening is,
A, products have changed somewhat over the last year.
They've become more potent.
They've added new flavors.
They've added new ingredients.
And the second thing is
if someone's been vaping for a longer period of time,
they're more likely to have side effects.
And possibly one of these side effects
is lung-related injury.
Is this caused by a specific product,
a specific chemical, a specific modification,
or a specific frequency of use?
Now, we don't have answers to those questions.
The one pattern that we have seen in the recent times,
they've been using not only nicotine products,
but the huge majority of them use THC vape products.
In those THC vape product,
there is a chemical called vitamin E acetate.
And New York State Department health officials
have a suspicion that it's this chemical
that's causing many of these cases.
And, of course, the big companies like Juul are jumping in
and saying, well, our products don't contain THC.
So we shouldn't really be affected by this.
I don't think that's the case.
There have been some instances of people not using THC vapes
and just using nicotine vapes like Juul.
So jumping to a conclusion now is just too early.
That's why the CDC mentioned that there's a pattern
but are not saying anything definitively.
As I said before, I much prefer to be alert
in these circumstances rather than anxious.
So I wanna give you some symptoms
that are good to be on the lookout for
if you or your loved ones vape.
The obvious one here is shortness of breath.
It can develop slowly over time in a progressive manner,
or it can happen really quickly,
at which point you have to call 911.
The other symptoms are less specific.
We're talking nausea, vomiting, fever, chills,
and even a cough.
Now, all those things may make you think
that you have a virus or some other sort of infection.
But that's exactly why it's important
if you see any of these symptoms and you vape
to go get checked out by your doctor.
Now, if you're using it as a form of risk reduction,
you're a habitual smoker, adult smoker,
and you'd like to get off cigarettes
and vaping is the only the only way you can.
You've tried all of the other methods, and they've failed.
Maybe, in that circumstance, I can say vaping works.
But right now, what we're seeing is a generation
of young people that actually weren't smoking cigarettes
that are now starting to get addicted to vaping.
And the reason why vaping is so addicting is
because of nicotine.
Nicotine affects your frontal cortex.
That's the part of your brain
that's responsible for decision making.
When you're a teen, that area isn't fully formed
and developed yet, so you're very susceptible
to outside influences on that area,
meaning that you're more likely
to develop an addiction potential.
In fact, the reason we regulate products
like smoking, alcohol, gambling
is primarily because of this reason
that we don't want the frontal cortex affected by this.
When Juul and all these other companies
launched their product, they really benefited
from the perception that vaping is safer than smoking.
And while that may be true in some cases,
if you weren't smoking to begin with,
there's no real reason to vape.
But the way they advertised it to young people is that,
uh, it's pretty much safe.
They showed picture of cool and hip young adults using it.
They even created flavors like bubble gum, cotton candy.
Who's that attractive for?
The young mind obviously.
Now, in this specific circumstance
where we're seeing all these vaping lung-related injuries
start to rack up, we need to take action.
I don't like that the CDC said
we should consider stopping vaping.
What does consider even mean?
I recently heard a doctor say this really well.
Imagine you're in a building.
And the fire alarm goes off,
and the announcement that's made is not to evacuate
but to consider evacuating.
What are you gonna do there?
You might be left in flux and confused.
So I don't think that the current level of alert
by the CDC is appropriate.
I think what we should do
just like we do when there's a salmonella outbreak
in lettuce for example, we say don't eat any lettuce
until further notice, until we figure this thing out.
I think we should exactly that.
We should stop all vaping
until we figure out what is causing this.
Is it a specific chemical?
Is it a specific product?
Is it a specific frequency?
We need answers before we start giving guidance.
And until we can give guidance,
the proper guidance is to say, don't do it.
As I told you in the past,
the way doctors make recommendations is based on evidence.
And evidence sometimes changes.
Right now, with all of these vape-related lung injuries
piling up, I think it's best to hold off on vaping.
That may change.
I may change my guidance and make an updated vaping video
in the new future, so be on the lookout for that.
If you enjoyed this video,
check out this playlist that I made for you.
And as always, stay happy and healthy.
(hypnotic hiphop music)