I sometimes think that the 70s and 80s must look at 2015 and laugh. Not because we are more idiotic now than we were then but because modern-day mass media makes it possible for everyone to know just how stupid people really are. In 1980, you needed to be Richard Pryor, high on freebase, running down the street on fire to make the news. Now all you need to be is some guy from Colorado Springs who had an e-cigarette explode in your face to make headlines.
Not a Laughing Matter
To be clear, I am not making light of the recent string of vaping accidents. The photos of Cordero Caples, the 29-year old dad from Colorado who sustained facial fractures and burns, shattered teeth and a broken neck after his e-cigarette blew up are nothing to snicker at. In fact, the only thing that might be laughable at this point is vaping being marketed as a safer alternative to smoking. In some ways, cancer in 15 or 20 years seems more desirable.
Health Risks Not What We Thought
What is interesting is that almost from the dawn of the e-cig craze, warnings of potential health risks, or at least suspicions of such, were popping up—just not as quickly or as plentifully as vaping lounges were. Even though cities began banning the use of electronic cigarettes in all the places regular cigarettes are, we still see a growing number of people (who all look like members of the band Creed) standing on the sidewalk, puffing on their cumbersome chambers of vape and very successfully taking the “looking cool” part out of smoking.
Despite the dangers of vaping, most still feel it is a “healthier” alternative to smoking—the lesser of two evils. However, the immediate dangers of e-toking have now gone beyond having a generic tribal tattoo and a soul patch. In addition to the reports of severe equipment malfunctions, BBC reported that a man in the UK used a combination of alcohol and vaping liquid to take his own life. According to local police, this was a first. While a very different situation than having a vaporizer you assumed was safe accidentally explode and set fire to an oxygen tank, it still shows that the ingredients used to make e-cigarette liquid is toxic.
Who Is to Blame?
I don’t believe the manufacturers of vape liquid should be held responsible for off-label uses (such as suicide) but the companies who made the e-cigarettes that blew up and caused injuries need to be held accountable. And according to recent reports, they have been. A woman in Riverside County, California sustained second degree burns after her e-cigarette began leaking battery fluid and then caught fire. The county awarded her over $1.8 million in physical and emotional damages; the distributor and the retailer are also being held financially accountable.
While I don’t necessarily agree with making a mom-and-pop corner store have to pay out for merely facilitating a sale of a defective product, I think it’s a step in the right direction for retail owners to pay more attention to the products they are selling (can non-lubricated condoms be next?)
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