Visit the smoking section of any local bar these days and you’re guaranteed to be met with a cloud of white smoke so dense that it’s hard to see.

That cloud isn’t being produced by a string of smokers.

It’s one guy, who will emerge majestically from the cloud at some point armed with a pre-prepared speech about the benefits of vaping, the vape you should be smoking, and an engineering degree’s worth of information about the machine that he carefully selected to make his fog.

He’ll then swagger off to the nearest vape bar to replenish his tailor-made vape juice that you can’t have because he designed it himself.

That attitude of self-importance, backed up by the idea that a vape is better than a cigarette, is about to take a blow, reports The Guardian.

US health officials are reporting what could be the country’s first death linked to vaping.

The officials said on Friday that an adult patient in Illinois, who contracted a serious lung disease after vaping, had died and that they considered it the first death in the US linked to e-cigarettes.

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 193 people in 22 states had contracted severe respiratory illnesses after vaping. They can’t confirm that vaping is the direct cause of these illnesses, but an investigation is underway.

All of the illnesses had occurred in teens or adults who had used an e-cigarette or other kind of vaping device. Doctors said the illnesses resembled an inhalation injury, with the lungs apparently reacting to a caustic substance. So far, infectious diseases have been ruled out.

…Dr Ngozi Ezike, the IDPH director, said in a statement: “The severity of illness people are experiencing is alarming and we must get the word out that using e-cigarettes and vaping can be dangerous.”

There has also been growing concern amongst health practitioners around vaping with children in the room. Children (teens) are also more likely to vape.

E-cigarettes have been described as a less dangerous alternative to regular cigarettes, but health officials have been worried about children using them. Most of the concern has focused on nicotine, which health officials say is harmful to developing brains and might make children more likely to take up cigarettes.

Some vaping products have been found to contain other potentially harmful substances, including flavouring chemicals and oils used for vaping marijuana, experts say.

The long and short of it is that if you’re putting something into your lungs that isn’t oxygen, it’s probably not great for you.

[source:guardian]