Milk Maid

Unless you have been living under a rock, or you haven’t been paying attention to local and national news, you have probably heard about vaping. It’s been garnering a lot of attention because of the number of recent illnesses and deaths.

So what is vaping? An electronic cigarette or e-cigarette is a handheld battery-powered vaporizer that simulates smoking by providing some of the behavioral aspects of smoking, including the hand-to-mouth action of smoking, but without burning tobacco.

Using an e-cigarette is known as “vaping” and the user is referred to as a “vaper.” While vaping was initially considered less harmful than smoking cigarettes, recent illnesses and deaths have been shedding new light on the vaping epidemic.

On Tuesday, the “Star Tribune” released a fascinating article about a young adult in Minnesota that is dealing with the effects of vaping and they highlighted other concerns related to vaping.

The concern for local and national health officials is that even legal forms of e-cigarette juice contain unregulated amounts of nicotine and, in some cases, harmful metals and additives.

Leaders of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medical Association have asked people to stop all vaping until the causes of the current outbreak can be identified.

Michigan has declared a public health emergency and banned all flavored vaping products.

Minnesota has yet to take those steps; interviews with lung-damaged patients in this state so far have pointed toward illicit THC as a culprit.

Other state health agencies are looking closely at additives to vaping juice, including vitamin E acetates that are used as thickening agents.

On Thursday, several reports indicated that vitamin E acetate is now “a key focus” of health investigations into the illnesses. Some of the products that have been found to contain vitamin E acetate are candy-flavored vapes, like the lemonade flavor. Why is this important to be aware of?

A staggering amount of those ill are young adults and teenagers. Survey data shows an explosion of e-cigarette use among Minnesota teenagers, with half of high school seniors saying they’ve tried vaping.

As of Wednesday morning, as many as 450 people across the nation with suspected or medically confirmed cases of vaping-associated lung injuries.

So far, it’s been linked to at least six deaths, and has sent otherwise healthy teens and young adults into intensive care. Minnesota has reported one death and 35 confirmed or probable cases.

I think this is an epidemic that those of us associated with teenagers either as students, family members or friends, need to be aware of.

E-cigarettes are scary because there are so many unknowns associated with e-cigarette use. If you have a loved one in that age group, sit down and chat with them.

Chances are they will tell you they know of people that have vaped or have tried it themselves.

Prevention and education is the best medicine.