Vaping and other e-cigarette devices continue to gain popularity, especially among our youth. The practice exposes people to a bunch of harmful effects that scientists and doctors are only just beginning to understand. 

But there is another downside to vaping that is talked about much less. Plastic litter from the devices has increased exponentially. A recent report suggested that if laid back to back, disposable e-cigarettes sold and later trashed annually in the U.S. could stretch across the country and back again.

This is why it is no surprise that mysterious items posted on the subreddit r/whatisit are regularly identified as parts of e-cigarettes. Given the amount of litter generated by the vaping industry, this is inevitable, as one poster recently found it when they presented a picture of an odd-looking item.

A helpful user quickly identified it as a Lookah bear brand displaying a picture of it with the caption, "It's one of these." 

First and foremost, vaping is very dangerous to people's health. They contain cancer-causing chemicals and tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs. The potentially harmful chemicals are especially dangerous to pregnant women and their fetuses. 

But disposable vape litter is an ongoing problem as well. Besides being unsightly, sharp points have caused flat tires. In addition, the chemicals in the vapes and their batteries can leak out when discarded, posing a danger to community members who did not choose to partake. 

They also pose a danger to the greater environment. They can harm local wildlife that might ingest it accidentally. Also, the manufacture of vaping devices creates gases that contribute to the overheating of the planet. 

Unfortunately, the problem of plastic is not just limited to disposable vapes, and it seems only to be getting worse. Users have posted about everything from excessive plastic packaging in grocery stores to a blade designed to open difficult plastic packaging being housed in difficult plastic packaging! And this is a huge issue as plastic takes a long time to break down. One plastic bottle takes 450 years to biodegrade, and they are everywhere. 

Besides avoiding dangerous vapes, one way we can try to take personal responsibility as consumers is to repurpose containers and packaging so they don't just end up in the landfill or our oceans after a single use. 

Do you think Americans use too much plastic? Absolutely 🗑️ Only in some states 🗺️ We're getting better 😃 We're doing fine 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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