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Do you even vape, bruh?

Does the thought of controlled nicotine dosages excite you? How about the promise of fewer chemicals and toxic ingredients? If the answer is yes, you may be in love with vaping, but perhaps not for long.

Researchers at Hong Kong Baptist University found in a recent study that e-cigarettes (e-cigs) contain one million times more cancer-causing substances than Hong Kong’s own heavily polluted air.

If e-cigs are being compared to the constant cloud of smog that requires residents to wear surgical masks over their mouths just to block out the harmful air, then that’s saying something.

The concept and big draw of e-cigs is that the flavored water vapor inhaled through a personal vaporizer will leave out the unattractive features of the traditional cigarette like the unpleasant smells and toxic breath.

Though some have claimed this new alternative is healthier than traditional cigarettes, recent studies and reports have said they’re basically just as harmful, if not potentially moreso, than their predecessors.

And then there are the other various technological impediments. A trending story from Buzzfeed reported that Marcus Forzani, a high school senior from Colorado, was in class when the battery on his vapor device exploded, causing second- and third-degree burns on his left leg.

The U.S. Fire Administration saw this coming back in 2014, warning “several burn injuries” had been reported from users of the device, most likely caused by the failure of the lithium-ion battery within it. If you can’t even have an e-cigarette on your person without fear of having your pants light on fire, what more will come from this developing trend?

As this new technology continues to grow and expand, the long-term effects, whether harmful or not, are still universally uncertain.

In the meantime, with the variety of flavors, smoke tricks and products to choose from, the latest craze will continue to draw in smokers and beginners alike, but there is also great potential for improvements.

Whether it’s deemed a harmless “hookah pen” or not, it is important to remain cautious when inhaling a substance that does not have sufficient data to confirm possible long-term damage.

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