By Anthony Jauregui
Senior Reporter

In recent months, vaping has grown increasing popular among a wide variety of users, marijuana wax included, all over the country. Vaping, a close cousin of the typical cigarette, heats liquid nicotine with not as much of the tar and rat poison as regular cigarettes.
On Jan. 28, the California Department of Health released a warning suggesting that “e-cigarettes emit cancer-causing chemicals and get users hooked on nicotine.”
Formaldehyde and aerosol are among the chemicals swept into the air. Exposure is implied after prolonged inhalation, not after a single slug.
A recent article released by the Associated Press suggests that, “A state senator introduced legislation this week that would regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products and ban their use in public places such as hospitals, bars and schools. A similar bill was defeated last year over opposition from tobacco companies.”
Vaping continues to grow rapidly along many age groups as well. A grave concern about this product is that it appeals to young children because it offers a wide variety of succulent flavors like peaches and cream and orange dreamsicle.
Child deaths from the consumption of liquid nicotine rose from “seven to 154 in 2012” according to the Associated Press.
In recent ploys to target parents, many anti e-cigarette crusaders suggest that flavoring of tobacco products or vaping products appeal to kids.
Another argument against vaping is that it leads to the smoking of actual cigarettes, the prolonged use ones that cause cancer and high blood pressure. It doesn’t take a scientist to know that cigarettes smell like crap, so why would people make a jump to smoking actual cigarettes when vaping essentially gives you the nicotine kick that you want and or need?
They wouldn’t. Unless they didn’t like the nicotine levels ingested with the vaping products.
A plus side to vaping is that it helps chronic smokers substitute cigarettes with the obvious less harmless side effects of e-cigarettes.
In a recent “Mike and Dr. Drew from Loveline” podcast, episode 93 featured the CEO of Craft Vapery, Josh Krane who discussed the benefits of vaping, which helped him quit smoking two packs of cigarettes daily.
“For me, its not only a way to scratch the itch for the nicotine it keeps me from eating, it satisfies something larger than I was getting with just cigarettes alone,” said Krane in the podcast.
My beef isn’t with vaping itself, but the fact that California wants to ban vaping in public places just because there are assumptions that it might cause cancer and kill you. Or that your kids might like it because it’s flavored like the cereal they eat, which is probably worse for them.
I’d rather have this next generation addicted to vaping than cigarettes.
The effects of vaping are inconclusive, but our government insists on assuming that kids will get hooked, and I say “so what?”
I’d rather have them suck back some pina colada than rat poison any day of the week.