Classic ethics thought experiment (updated)
Trolley Problem: You can flip the track and save the lives of 5 adult smokers. But the cost of doing so is one teen becoming dependent on nicotine.
Note: Death is final. Dependence is not (e.g., 2/3rds of teen smokers later quit).
Trolley Problem: You can flip the track and save the lives of 5 adult smokers. But the cost of doing so is one teen becoming dependent on nicotine.
Note: Death is final. Dependence is not (e.g., 2/3rds of teen smokers later quit).
...OK. Let's be more accurate. Teens who vape today may later quit. In fact, nearly 2/3rds of them just did quit (over the past two years).
Adult smoking shortens the lives of 50% of lifelong smokers by ~10 years. So that's not certain either. But death remains final.
Adult smoking shortens the lives of 50% of lifelong smokers by ~10 years. So that's not certain either. But death remains final.
So... Why 5 to 1?
4.6 million US adult vapers have quit smoking completely (this does not include smokers who quit with ecigs and later quit vaping).
cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/6…
0.5 million US high school students vape nicotine daily.
>2.3 million lives saved vs. 0.5m 'hooked'?
4.6 million US adult vapers have quit smoking completely (this does not include smokers who quit with ecigs and later quit vaping).
cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/6…
0.5 million US high school students vape nicotine daily.
>2.3 million lives saved vs. 0.5m 'hooked'?
One final note: all studies, even those conducted by anti-vaping researchers, show that 40%-or-less of teens who vape nicotine are dependent (at least one sign of dependence... out of 9-12 standard dependence-related questions).
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