City of Columbia City Hall Building

Stand Up For Your Health

Make the right choice

“Covid-19 poses a significant risk to those who vape.”

It has been found that those who vape are 5 times more likely to be infected with Covid-19 than those who do not use e-cigarettes (Gaiha, Cheng, Halpern-Felsher, 2020). Now more than ever, it’s important to stand up for your health.
The risk of severe illness is not worth the buzz.
COVID 19 Virus
Teen reading a book

“I won’t become addicted.”

You say that now.

Nicotine is the most addictive substance known to mankind, and one JUUL cartridge has as much nicotine as 20 cigarettes. So actually, e-cigarettes might be more addictive than cigarettes.

Some people get addicted in just a few days. Others won’t develop cravings for months. Either way, nicotine is  a powerful drug no matter how you use it.

 During the nine years I spent helping people who had been addicted to crack, heroin, and alcohol stop smoking, they all said that smoking was the hardest addiction to kick.

-Dr. Richard Stumacher, M.D, Chief of Pulmonary/Critical Care at Northern Westchester Hospital 

“It’s just water vapor.”

Not exactly. 

E-cigarettes contain tons of chemicals, including heavy metals. Teenagers who vaped were shown to have three times more toxic chemicals in their bodies than their non-vaping peers. In fact, e-cigarettes actually qualify as a biohazard because they can leak heavy metals and residual nicotine into the environment. 

 When they did the actual major surgery to re-inflate my lungs, the surgeon said, ‘whatever you’ve been smoking has been leaving these black dots on your lungs’… You thought Juuls were safe. So did I.

– Chance Ammirata, Florida teen who underwent emergency surgery for a collapsed lung he claims was caused by vaping.

Vape Supplies E-Juice

“It’s healthier for me.”

Not exactly. 

Nicotine is the main health culprit when it comes to tobacco products, and cigarettes and JUULs both contain it. The nicotine inside e-cigarettes raises your heart rate and blood pressure, increasing your risk of having a heart attack. In fact, doctors won’t prescribe birth control pills for young patients using nicotine, because the danger of heart attacks increases by 30 percent when used together.

 All tobacco products are harmful to your health, despite what they taste, smell, or look like.

– The F.D.A.

Boys playing soccer
Dog laying on a rug

“It’s safe to use.”

Heating 60+ chemicals in a plastic cartridge with battery and inhaling them through your mouth. Sounds safe right?

E-cigarettes pose a huge danger to you and the living things around you. Poison Control has gotten calls about young adults and children ingesting the chemicals in the cartridges. These poisonings can lead to seizures. Children and adults have been poisoned by swallowing, breathing, or absorbing e-cigarette liquid through their skin or eyes. JUULs and vape pens can burn you. They can explode in your pocket. They can explode in your face and seriously injure people.  Although they appear rare, these explosions are dangerous.

 The shape and construction of electronic cigarettes can make them more likely than other products with lithium-ion batteries to behave like ‘flaming rockets’ when a battery fails.

– A 2017 report from the U.S. Fire Administration

What you can do

e cigarettes

The CDC’s “Quick Facts on the Risks of E-cigarettes”

Clear the Air

Stop the Vape Missouri Website

People smiling and laughing

Tools to Quit Vaping from Smokefreeteen.gov

Public Health and Human Services Building

Columbia/Boone County Tobacco Resources

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