Deaths from vaping on the rise: Penn State students admit defeat to quitting the addicting cancer-causing devices.

By: Olivia Lhopitault

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State students admit their personal accounts of addiction caused from vaping and their inability to stop using the drug.

With new reports about e-cigarette responsible deaths arising, Penn State students fear they are at risk for the possible long-term effects of vaping.

“It’s kind of scary because I’m a pretty avid vaper” said Owen Zimmerman, a 21-year-old junior at Penn State. “We stopped buying the products but honestly, if I’m drinking on the weekends, I usually just hit one of my friends.”

In recent months the Food and Drug Administration has forced documentation on the harmful effects of vaping to be posted in stores that sell the products. The FDA has also made efforts by sending warning letters to retailers about selling JUUL’s to minors.

On August 30, 2019, JUUL CEO, Kevin Burns said, “Don’t vape. Don’t use JUUL,” in a “CBS This Morning” interview.Burns, has addressed the possible lung illnesses and is “worrisome” but has no plans to take the product off the market.

The JUUL was initially created as an alternative to cigarettes, with the purpose to wean smokers off the drug. Students admit they know the problems vaping causes but they do not plan to quit anytime soon.

Kristy Wang a 19-year old sophomore used to play sports in high school but now that she is vapes, she does not anymore.

“I think since I started, I definitely have a harder time running at the gym and stuff,” said Wang. “I know that it’s not good but I can’t really stop doing it.”

A single JUUL pod contains 20 cigarettes worth of nicotine, almost one-fifth of middle and high school students have either seen or used a JUUL product in school. While most victims that have suffered side effects from vaping have been younger, all those who died have been adults.

Jonathan Sherman, a 21-year-old junior at Penn State said, “JUULs are like very addicting and I’ve had one of my friends who actually got a collapsed lung from it.”

In the last year, over 450 people across the United States have died due to vaping related illnesses. E-cigarettes are fairly new compared to regular tobacco cigarettes, studies are unable to conclude all the possible long-term effects vaping has on users.