Head in the Clouds

How dangerous is vaping? Studies have linked the use of electronic cigarettes to lung disease, including a form of pneumonia. This cartoon focuses on another body part threatened by vaping: the brain. Although many teens may believe that vapes are safer than traditional cigarettes, most of these devices still contain nicotine. That highly addictive drug, scientists say, can seriously impair adolescent brain development, including the ability to learn and memorize.

^{SOURCE: CDC}

Yet e-cigarettes continue to be popular. According to a 2022 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 14.1 percent of high school students and 3.3 percent of middle schoolers had used e-cigarettes within the previous 30 days. Of those who had vaped recently, more than one-quarter reported doing so daily.

The cartoon’s caption refers to the way that e-cigarettes work. The devices heat a liquid containing nicotine and other harmful chemicals until it turns into an inhalable vapor. The process is called vaporizing— a word that can also mean destroying or gradually erasing something.

Study the cartoon, then answer the questions below.

1. Who is the subject of the cartoon? What details indicate that this is so?

2. Why might the cartoonist have replaced the head with a cloud of vapor?

3. How does the cartoonist use the word vaporizing in two ways?

4. Using details from the cartoon, how would you sum up its message?