“The earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs but not every man’s greed” -Mahatma Gandhi
Today I want to mention a serious problem with you with I find mind-blowing and totally illogical for me, namely- single use vapes.
Vapes was available for use since 2003 but they gained popularity almost seven years later in 2010 when this business exploded. At first they were made with idea of an alternative for normal cigarettes, but it wasn’t long before teens just started buying it because of the cool taste and mostly for fun. We still haven’t discovered all bad consequences of vapes but for sure we know that almost 2.5 million underaged people hit it every day, and that is only in United States.
We as people are becoming more aware of climate change or more climate catastrophe. We are reducing our carbon footprint, we buy eco-friendly products or use products more than once…oh exactly. In 2010 when vape business grower rapidly they were build from a rechargeable battery, liquid container, heating device and plastic cover. When someone emptied the liquid, he could simply buy another bottle so it made it quite reusable. So what has gone wrong? As always -money. When someone bought just a device, it last for as long as electric devices inside allowed it ,so similar as phone. Apparently the income was too small for producers so they made most illogical decision (of course in ecological sense) they switched to single use vapes that costs 1/3 of a normal pod price but they lasts for 1-2 days of use. Perfect for a party yeah? Not so much witch its results.
Single use vapes are built from battery and heating device which can be extremely dangerous and toxic if it’s not rightly disposed or returned to a store…and believe me they are not. Inside of this tasty little sticks there is dangerous particles such as lithium, nickel, manganese or cobalt. On the landfills exposed to rain they can easily poison water and soil or even cause a fire due to self-ignition.
It is speculated that we throw away 10 tones of lithium a year only from disposable vapes which is sum of 1,200 Tesla car batteries.
Personally, I think that every battery should be used a lot more than once as it is not renewable and toxic power source. We should endeavour to throw away less and make it circular as much as we can, so getting rid of a plastic stick with a battery after one day of ,,pleasure” with a funny taste is total nonsense.
My advice to you is to think before buying anything cause it really matters, there is a statement that with every purchase you are shaping the world you live in, so to shape it well we should be aware of what we choose and how it impact our surroundings.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/e-cigarette
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63037553
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impacts_of_lithium-ion_batteries
https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/youth-and-tobacco/results-annual-national-youth-tobacco-survey
I totally agree with you on the consequences these e-cigarettes have on the environment. I would also like to mention that most of these pods, even though were invented as an alternative to traditional smoking tobacco and with a goal of lowering people’s addiction to smoking, are nevertheless even more addictive according to many studies. That’s mostly due to easier form of usage and better tastes. Also, while people know a lot about the composition of traditional cigarettes, we hardly know anything about what is being put into liquids for e-cigarettes. These chemicals may be even more dangerous to human health and more carcinogenic, there should be more research made on this topic. I think that stronger regulation and control on e-cigarettes should be introduced.
I agree with the author and consider disposable cigarettes a very strange solution for smokers. Why buy disposable cigarettes when you can buy a vape and refill it to your heart’s content? The answer is obvious, people think that they will smoke one disposable cigarette and this will end their smoking history, but this is not so, after the first one people buy the next one and so on, thus disposable cigarettes become the reason why people start smoking. The fact that these cigarettes are not recycled in any way and the batteries are used only once is already terrible for the environment and for this you need to put separate trash cans for recycling these plastic nicotine sticks
I agree with the statement that electronic cigarettes are the worst thing that could be invented to increase sales. A decision that turned the world upside down and posed an even greater environmental threat to the universe. Moreover, according to many studies, people believe that switching from cigarettes to disposable products will reduce their dependence, but in reality everything is exactly the opposite. Because they contain much more harmful substances.
In fact, vapes is a very serious problem that people for some reason do not raise as globally as, for example, global warming or the destruction of plastic. Although in fact, vapes are not only terrible for health, but also for the environment, as written in the post. People want to make money so much that they don’t even think about nature, but only try to cram people with a product that will be in demand, thus also pushing people into bad habits. Vapes are very dangerous things, this topic should be raised and developed at a more global level.
Thank you for the post, I completely agree with all of your points. And I believe now both usual cigarettes and e-cigarettes are romanticised by the media, shows, movies, and bloggers. So, people have wrong associations of coolness or mysteriousness with the product that kills them and the environment. The problem of smoking should definitely be raised more and discussed seriously.
I agree with you. Before I read this post I thought about vapes only in a matter of the health of human beings, but right now I see the concerns in environmental issues. Major customers which are young people are completely unaware of the environmental problems, and we should educate them about it.
That quote from Gandhi is accurate and relatable to this poisonous vaping trend! We must stop the singes puff bars as they are so addictive and pollutive to the environment that they bring no good to the better future.
Great that you wrote about it! Especially that recently single use vapes are sold in the Żabka chain of stores and have gained even greater popularity. I completely do not understand the sense of destroying the environment and poisoning yourself in exchange for flavourful smoke.
I totally agree with your concerns regarding single use vapes and their negative impact on the environment. Toxic materials which are present in those vapes can seriously harm, not only people’s lives. Me, as a past smoker, I would like to encourage you all smokers who are reading this blog to stop smoking and seriously think about what happens with those tons of plastic after you finish what’s inside.