With the discovery of a new lung disease, possibly being linked to vaping, lawmakers, Trump included, were quick to act and bring up the idea of banning the sale of all flavored vaping devices. However, this is more of a case of mass hysteria than anything.

Banning the sale of vapes while no specific cause of the disease has been identified is a very irrational thing to do. Instead of waiting for toxicology reports to roll in or a scientific link between vaping and the disease, lawmakers are panicking and simply want to just ban vapes outright.

Now, I’m not saying vaping is good. I strongly oppose all form of smoking. However, it being bad doesn’t justify a ban. Do we ban junk food because it makes us fat? Or do we ban wine because it makes people drunkards? No. When people buy vapes and cigarettes, they should be doing so with the knowledge that smoking and vaping is very harmful. They smoke at their own expense.

Admittedly, the industry is doing a horrible job of educating users. That alone, though, doesn’t justify a ban. Now, if vaping did cause the lung disease, sure, go ahead and ban it. The problem here is, it has not been proven yet. Everyone is jumping to conclusions without considering what facts are available. For all we know, the disease could be caused by some other substance that vape users also tend to use.

As Beverly Friedmann from ReviewingThis puts it, “In my opinion, it would be a rash decision and perhaps a bit overzealous to ban all flavored vaping products at this juncture, despite the recent illnesses in question. While we’ve all heard about the recent illnesses and even deaths correlated to specific vaping products, none of them have been specifically traced back to nicotine or even non-nicotine (flavored) products alone. We also have to give careful consideration to the number of people who have successfully quit smoking via the use of vaping products and continue to abstain via use.

The use of traditional cigarette products, containing thousands of harmful chemicals, is linked to millions of deaths and continues to be legal. While two wrongs never make a right, we often have to ask ourselves to question both media sensationalism as well as the lesser of two evils. While there is not an argument to make for vaping being healthy, we also have to ask ourselves how many people would return to smoking with an FDA ban on all products. Thus it seems both premature and unjust to adult users for the government to ban the use of all vaping products without further conclusive research and studies to support this action.”

As for the people up in Washington wanting to enact a ban, they simply want to jump on a sailing boat. That is, if it turns out that vaping does indeed cause the disease, they will be praised for their quick action. If it turns out it doesn’t, they can point out they were being cautious and did something responsible in the face of a dire problem.

A year from now, when Trump seeks reelection, he’ll look back and say, “Look at the vaping epidemic. I was there to stop it. People were dying fast. Very fast, I tell you. I helped Congress pass a ban and saved very many lives. I know how to handle a pressing emergency. Vote for me!”

That’s just the problem. This media’s over-reporting has made the issue seem like a world catastrophe. Lawmakers have been influenced and some believe that it really is a dire catastrophe that requires executive action to solve.

And remember, it hasn’t even been proven that vaping actually causes the disease.

Dr. Nikola Djordjevic from MedAlertHelp.org says, “…there is a bit of mass-hysteria going on regarding the vaping scare. There have been cases of contaminated water and food causing illness, and generally, the products are recalled and customers are alerted. Since in the vaping industry there are many companies, each producing their own line of vaping oil, I think a full-ban by the FDA is a bit excessive.

So it’s possible that a particular batch of vaping oil was contaminated, and that company should be investigated and blacklisted until it’s sorted. People are vaping in North America and most of Europe for many years now, and there haven’t been similar cases like this one. So I think before we start panicking it’s best to wait out and see what kind of data is produced by the toxicology reports before justifying a nation-wide ban on a product.”

Once again. Mass hysteria. Sensationalism. Panic. Chaos. “Ban vapes now and think about the consequences later!”

Until vaping has actually been linked with this epidemic, a ban is unjustified. Now, thats not saying vape users shouldn’t be wary and hold off use, just that its not the government’s job to get involved. Yet.

Read the other side: Don’t Wait, Ban Vape

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