It's the Brian Laris Show on WNYC.

Good morning again, everyone.

Now let's take a look at one of the most fraught subjects in public health these days, vaping.

You might say there's a guava ice-scented cloud of mystery

surrounding vapes right now due to how little time they've been on the market. It feels like

vaping has been around a while, but it's still relatively new and studies are still emerging on

the health effects. Questions like, are they safe at all? What are the long-term consequences of regular

usage? And what exactly are we ingesting here? All swirl around without solid answers.

Nevertheless, the stat that I've seen is that one in 20 people vape in this country,

despite lacking information about how this habit might affect

their health in the future. For some, this statistic is a beacon of hope, though. Cigarette smoking

is down in the United States, and a vaping is helping adults quit that, and younger people

not to start. It's likely that millions will avoid premature death by making that

particular switch. But for others, the rise of vapes represents a new crisis, like for teenagers

who can't resist blowing fruity flavored oaths, if you know what I mean. According to the FDA,

about 2.8 million youths are using tobacco products,

and no surprise here, e-cigarettes are now by far the most favored. Today, Audible and Prolog

projects are releasing a new podcast called Backfired, the Vaping Wars, taking listeners right

into the storm of the debate and through the rise and fall

of the company that kind of started it all, Jewel, J-U-U-L, you know, Jewel.

Here's a one-minute sample from this series.

You know the Cambrian explosion that's responsible for all the world's biodiversity?

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