Recently, there’s been an increase in deaths involving teens and adults who have been vaping. So far, eight people have died because of lung related illnesses that have been the result of using these deadly electronic devices. The eight patients that have died so far have been from California, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota and Oregon. While some may think these devices are better than smoking, the chemicals in them could jumpstart a deadly addiction that could lead to your death.

The eighth death occurred just a few weeks ago. A man from Missouri in his forties passed even though he had no previous illnesses. The Missouri health officials reported that the man had normal lung function before he started to vape in May. After continuing to vape, he established mild respiratory issues that then led to his death. Across the United States, there have been hundreds of cases related to these where many have come close to dying.

Whether it is a student vaping at school or an adult starting to vape, the consequences are all very real. MHS school resource officer, Joey Rupert, said “Vaping is unsafe because we don’t know the actual chemical makeup of the oils that are being burned and the aerosol that people are inhaling. There is also no regulation on it, we don’t know the effects but we are starting with the eight deaths that we’ve experienced across the United States in the past few months.”

If people do not realize the seriousness of this situation, more and more deaths could occur. While we are starting to learn more about the long term effects of vaping, we are also adding to a continuing death toll. If more awareness is spread on this topic such as informing others on the situation, we could put a stop to the rising number of deaths. No matter how cool it may sound, never partake in something that could affect your health this seriously.