If you're like any other college student, you probably own a JUUL or your friends own one. I've often heard many people claiming how "vaping is not bad for you" or that "vaping is good for you because it's air." Quite frankly, I disagree. I'm not here to tell you how to live your life and to stop vaping if you do - but did you read the warning on the JUUL box that says, "California Proposition 65 warning: This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer or birth defects, or other reproductive harm"? Are you also aware that you can potentially lose your sense of taste?

A study in 2018 investigated the "transfer of metals from the heating coil to the e-liquid in the e-cigarette tank and the generated aerosol." The researchers sampled a total of 56 e-cigarette devices from daily users. When they measured metal levels in the aerosol, they found chromium, manganese, nickel, zinc, and lead. One of the authors, Dr. Ana Navas-Acien, a professor at Mailman School of Public Columbia University, claimed that "after the e-liquid was heated through the e-cigarette device, lead levels were 25 times higher" than the initial levels prior to heating. The results thus appears that vaping is a potential source of toxic, and perhaps carcinogenic, metals.

In addition, vaping can lead to what's commonly referred to as Vaper's tongue. Vaper's tongue is colloquially used for a variety of taste-related conditions including losing your taste for all foods and drinks. Your taste buds are constantly regenerated about every 10 to 14 days, so the tastes will eventually come back if you stop vaping for a few weeks, probably. However, according to Comfort Keepers, an in-home senior care and elder care service group, "between the ages of 40 and 50, the number of taste buds decreases, and the rest begin to shrink, losing mass vital to their operation. After age 60, you may begin to lose the ability to distinguish the taste of sweet, salty, sour, and bitter foods." Imagine not being able to taste your favorite meal or having a diminished appetite for your favorite meal in your foreseeable future. Your taste buds are already going to deteriorate with age, so what's the point of harming them through vaping early on?

What's even scarier is that there has been a 2016 study suggesting that e-cigarettes are "cytotoxic to epithelial cell lines and is a DNA strand break-inducing agent" and that a 2014 study has concluded that "these devices are unregulated, of unknown safety, and of uncertain benefit in quitting smoking."

Again, my role is not to convince you one way or the other - I'm simply here to provide you with information. At the end of the day, you dictate what you put into your own body.