Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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You have to check out. Loman loppuminen ja pakkaaminen voi tuntua ikävältä. Jopa niin ikävältä, että laukkujen kasaaminen oven eteen tuntuu hyvältä ajatukselta. Welcome to Skeptical Sunday.
I'm your host, Jordan Harbinger. Today I'm here with Skeptical Sunday co-host, writer and researcher Jessica Wynn. On the Jordan Harbinger Show, we decode the stories, secrets, and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you.
Our mission is to help you become a better informed, more critical thinker. And during the week, we have long form conversations with a variety of amazing folks from spies to CEOs, athletes, authors, thinkers and performers. On Sundays, though, it's Skeptical Sunday.
A rotating guest co-host and I will break down a topic you may have never thought about and debunk common misconceptions about that topic. Topics such as the lottery, Reiki healing, toothpaste, banned foods, diet supplements, internet porn, and more.
If you're new to the show or you're looking for a handy way to tell your friends about the show, I suggest our... I just said internet porn and then handy. I suggest... I mean, it shouldn't be funny because I'm an adult, but... Forever an 11-year-old boy. I know. Yeah. Anyway, I suggest our episode starter packs. They're...
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Chapter 2: What are the harmful effects of vaping compared to smoking?
I bet it has to do with how it's marketed to kids. But we'll get there soon.
That's what I was going to say. It's just a whole new world with vapes. And here in the U.S., states are making their own moves. Texas just passed SB 2024, which requires retail permits for vape sales, sets packaging restrictions, and bans vaping near all schools, which is kind of crazy that they needed to pass a bill that wasn't already being enforced.
Right. Oh, Texas, the state that'll let you bring a gun to brunch, but no vapes.
Yeah, pretty much. And it shows how disruptive vaping has become, not just here, but worldwide. Yeah.
Yeah, but here's the thing. People really do believe it's harmless. Like I hear claims like it stops you from smoking cigarettes or it's just water vapor.
Which is completely false. It's not vapor, you guys. It's aerosol. It's like a chemical soup. That's an important distinction. Vapor is just gas, like steam from a kettle. Aerosol means droplets of chemicals suspended in the air, stuff your lungs cannot filter.
So what's actually in those vape clouds?
Well, a vape cloud contains all kinds of ultra-fine particles and chemicals. Studies show most aerosols contain nicotine, heavy metals like lead and nickel, carbonyls like formaldehyde, metal particles from the heating coils, and flavoring chemicals. It's not harmless steam. It's a mix of substances that get inhaled deep into your lungs. Wait, formaldehyde? That's... Yes.
Gross. That's the stuff they preserve. They're like frogs in there in high school biology.
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Chapter 3: What misconceptions exist about vaping being harmless?
The reality is most adults didn't quit. They just picked up a new habit. Meanwhile, Juul was advertising on Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network.
Dude.
Yeah, I mean, it was before regulations got to them. And so the teen market skyrocketed the company's profits, which got the attention of Big Tobacco. And in 2018, tobacco giant Altria, who are the makers of Marlboro products, they swooped in and bought a 35 percent stake of Juul for about 13 billion dollars.
Oh, my God. 13 billion. Holy crap. How did that turn out? By the way, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network accepting that money is shamefully disgusting.
They could have been duped, too. I don't who knows what was happening. It's very deceptive. I don't know.
I'm just thinking like you're buying ads on That's So Raven or something. Right. And you're like, no, no, no. It's a tool for adults to quit smoking. And there's adults watching this with their teenage kids and something. Here's the money.
Ask mom and dad before going in the smoke shop.
Yeah, I just I don't buy it. I think they didn't give a shit. That's what I think.
But somebody did. It didn't go well for these companies and regulators did crack down. Lawsuits piled up and Juul's value tanked. By 2023, Altria traded at stake for Juul's intellectual property rights, meaning it walked away with Juul's patents, making Juul independent again. But Altria still profited from the technology.
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Chapter 4: How did JUUL revolutionize nicotine delivery and addiction?
and sold without approval. And they often contain even higher nicotine levels than legal products.
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Chapter 5: What are the dangers of secondhand and thirdhand vape exposure?
The U.S. is one of the most chaotic markets. This is crazy.
And America has huge loopholes. We have weak enforcement and constant new products that know how to skirt any new regulation.
OK, but if the FDA hasn't authorized them, how are they still everywhere? Enforcement?
Yeah, well, it's an enforcement gap. You know, the FDA doesn't have the resources to keep up and companies launch new flavors and designs faster than regulators can respond.
So the FDA is jogging behind all out of breath. Maybe they should quit vaping.
Pretty much sums up the marketing machine in a nutshell, though. And meanwhile, the numbers tell their own story. In 2023, about six and a half percent of U.S. adults vaped. Among 21 to 24 year olds, it was over 15 percent. And among high schoolers, youths seemed to decline in 2024 to about 6%, but that's still more than 800,000 children vaping.
800,000 kids. That's like every marching band in America hitting a vape cloud at halftime.
Gross. And one in four American high school boys reported trying it at least once.
So the cigarette alternative just became another category of nicotine delivery entirely.
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