Smoking Gun

E-cigarettes are being demonised for their link to lung disease but is the hullaballoo around vaping stopping us from addressing a far bigger killer?

- Jack Phillips

SPINNING AN E-CIGARETTE between his fingers like a tiny cheerleader’s baton, Jamal orders another coffee because it’s apparent I’m picking up the bill. The 19-year-old student has just spent the last five minutes sipping a soy flat white while waxing lyrically about a rapper I’ve never heard of. But although I find his hackneyed use of the word “legend” grating, I have to admit he has my attention due to his ability to gush so enthusiastically while expelling plumes of blueberry-smelling smoke. “Sorry about that,” he laughs. “I have the wattage turned up on this new mod. It’s good for cloud chasing but the popcorn lung is a killer.”

That term, “popcorn lung”, might sound innocuous enough but it refers to the nickname given to bronchiolitis obliterans, a condition that affects small airways in the lungs and triggers short bursts of coughing. Jamal says he began experiencing coughing fits not long after he bought his first high-powered e-cigarette, an appendage he admits has become a common sight among his peers.

E-Cigarettes have experienced a sharp rise in popularity since first hitting the market back in 2007. Assigned a myriad of monikers like vape, pipe and mod, they’ve spawned sub-cultures, slang terminology and drawn celebrity advocates who cast them as desirable fashion accessories.