I just learned from WIRED about the newest ways the Chinese have developed vape devices to make them stand out to our youth. They offer colorful, “eye-catching metallic finishes, squishy textures, and rounded shapes that fit comfortably in a person’s hands.”
The first one is a disposable vape that can be connected to a smart phone with the brand name RAMA. It looks itself like a cell phone where the user can customize the LCD screen to show how many puffs are left for those who fear of running out - what every nicotine addict fears, and what every manufacturer wants to prevent. It can even be connected to track the user’s location. Chinese manufactured vapes are also being offered online in flavors such as Watermelon Sour Berry and Strawberry Blowpop for $5 a piece, sweet flavors that most appeals to kids. Perhaps the most innovative is the Craftbox V-Play that comes with a display and D-pad that is used to play games, similar to Tetris and Pac-Man and TopShine Squeeze 10000 which is a vape with an exterior that is like a stress ball that can be squeezed to manage stress between hits of nicotine. These types of vapes are illegal in the US but they are not being strenuously monitored by the FDA so if kids want the status of “influencer” in their local community, all they need to do is purchase one of these at most shops to be the coolest kid on the block.
What else is alarming to know about these types of vapes?
· The disposable LCD screen is harmful for the environment when tossed.
· Flavored vapes have surged to 60 % of the Chinese sales, a $28 billion export industry.
· Between 2017 and 2022 the nicotine juice has increased 300% from. 1.7% to 5%.
· Vape products are now more affordable, better designed, and deliver much higher doses of nicotine so they are dangerously lethal.
· According to an expert out of Stanford University, Robert Jackler, a vape with 5,000 puffs of 5% nicotine is “equivalent to the amount of nicotine in 25 packs of tobacco cigarettes, but it cost’s far less.” (Considering that it only takes 50 to 60 mg of nicotine to kill a person weighing 150 lbs., and that most kids weigh less than that, it is not far-fetched to believe they are carrying a lethal weapon with them.)
Even though outlawed entirely in the U.S. these vapes with names and manufacturers like, Kraze HD7K. Craftbox V-Play, Elfbar, EBDesign, Geek Bar Pulse, TopShine Squeeze 10000, and EBCreate can easily be found in vape shops.
The conventional wisdom is that vapes are safer than cigarettes, but it is just a matter of time for the science to catch up with the demand and the false information. Vapes are addictive - period. When it comes to an addiction, if one doesn’t recover from the substance, the situation will only get worse, never better! Be aware! And do your best to keep kids aware and free from enslavement to nicotine.
Sources:
Wired
WebMD
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