Why is vaping-related lung illness seen by health officials, politicians, and the press as a public health crisis, even though other public health problems with worse consequences—like influenza—have not garnered as much attention?
As of October 10, 2019, roughly 1,300 people in the U.S. have gotten sick from vaping and 29 have died. Part of the reason for the widespread concern about the issue is that a significant portion of those sickened have been young people, said experts in an October 8 PBS NewsHour article. Others cited the media’s desire to fill the 24-hour news cycle.
According to Kasisomayajula Viswanath, Lee Kum Kee Professor of Health Communication at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, loose regulations and lack of information about the dangers of e-cigarettes mean the risk of vaping is unclear—and not fully understanding something can feed panic and the perception of a crisis.
“Once we define the threat and the nature and the magnitude of the threat, then action will follow,” said Viswanath. “That might potentially make the issue go away.”
Read the PBS NewsHour article: Is a vaping-linked lung illness a public health crisis? That depends on who you ask