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The Vaping Crisis
One in nine children have experimented with vaping according to Action on Smoking and Health, but unfortunately, as a young person, this figure seems too small. Walking into the busy high street, my eyes and nose are constantly met with a white, polluting cloud of strawberry flavored vapor which commonly comes from a sparkly florescent pink tube. At school we joke, “he breathes more bubblegum flavored vapor than air” but we should be disturbed.
E-cigarettes produce dangerous chemicals including acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde. These aldehydes can cause lung disease, as well as cardiovascular (heart) disease. E-cigarettes also contain acrolein, a herbicide primarily used to kill weeds. But young people are aware of this and chose to ignore the risks due to peer pressure.
E cigarettes are also damaging for the environment. The nicotine they contain is not only toxic to human lungs and skin, but is also a poison to wildlife, with the potential to cause havoc in food chains all around the country through polluting soil and water. The batteries that power them are hazardous if not disposed of properly.
I dread to imagine a starving fox wandering the empty streets in the dead of night, searching for a food source and stumbling across a vape, dropped carelessly by someone with no consideration of the fatal consequences. The frail fox, in desperation, may mistake it for the delicious grub he has been craving for 3 days. After eating it, instead of having a feeling of fulfillment, the fox feels a sharp, stinging pain in his stomach, which will eventually kill him.
This reign of terror must end.