Smoking: Vaping can be deadly, too

I’m last in line in my family, having survived two deaths in one year of the last two members, both having died of smoking-related ailments.

I try to keep a lid on my feelings about tobacco. I find righteousness in the face of addiction to be more than annoying. But the rise of “vaping” - smoking electronic cigarettes - is of great concern to me, and I won’t stay quiet.

Any notion of “false science” about the risks of e-cigarettes is bunk. The gradual disappearance of cigarette smoking appears to be making its counterpart rise in the growing popularity of vaping. This is a for-profit rush to gain acceptance of young people for an addiction that can kill them.

Nicotine does not need to be inhaled in the form of a tobacco cigarette to cause cancer. My 58-year-old brother died from bladder cancer. His death certificate states that it was smoking-related. That’s science I believe.

I applaud the Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health for restricting the use of e-cigarettes in public.

This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Smoking: Vaping can be deadly, too."