How Vaping 'Might Just Save Your Life!'

Every week seems brings a new story about how vaping is really, really, really bad for you.

Only a few years ago, electronic cigarettes were being hailed as a new and healthier way for people to consume nicotine and pot. The number of vapers worldwide has grown sevenfold since 2011, to an estimated 41 million users. But now, vaping is being attacked as a dangerous trend that's luring teenagers into a deadly habit that might be as bad for you as conventnional smoking. Reports of vaping-related deaths and respiratory illnesses appear daily on cable news shows, in newspapers, and online. The FDA is considering a ban on flavored e-cigarettes, and many states have already instituted strict regulations on vaping sales and use. Congress has voted to change the age for legal tobacco and e-cigarette sales to 21, up from 18.

Is vaping bad for you? Should we be panicking? What sorts of policies should govern the use of e-cigarettes? To answer these and other questions, Nick Gillespie sat down with Reason's Jacob Sullum, who has written extensively—and authoritatively—about the issue for years.

Produced by Justin Monticello. Camera by Meredith Bragg and Regan Taylor. Music by Silent Partner, Topher Mohr and Alex Elena, and Jingle Punks.

Image credits:

Hollandse-Hoogte/ZUMA Press/Newscom
RICHARD B. LEVINE/Newscom
Nicolas Maeterlinck/ZUMA Press/Newscom
Douglas Graham/Newscom
Alex Milan Tracy/Sipa USA/Newscom
Blaine Harrington/agefotostock/Newscom
Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMA Press/Newscom
GKUA.COM/MEGA / Newscom
Jim West/ZUMA Press/Newscom
Keiko Hiromi/Polaris/Newscom
Douglas Graham/Newscom