Can I Recover Money if I Suffer Medical Problems From E-Cigarettes?

How much of the line of reasoning about new consumer trends being more dangerous than old ones is true, and how much of it is simply media hype? Yes, fentanyl is more potent than heroin, and automobiles can go faster than horses, but is social media really more dangerous than yellow journalism as it was transmitted through newsstands a century ago, and is vaping more dangerous than smoking cigarettes? 



Personal injury lawyers are not in the business of making general statements about the safety or risks inherent in a particular product. They do, however, take note of when a product causes more harm than most other products similar to it or when it frequently causes injury even when consumers follow the manufacturer’s safety guidelines. 

Sometimes, it turns out that an entire category of product carries risks that manufacturers and regulators only discover after the product has become available on the market. As a result, government agencies issue updated regulations regarding the manufacture, sale, or use of the products, and manufacturers issue safety recalls and sometimes even discontinue entire product lines. People who suffer injuries as the result of dangerous or defective products, including people who have suffered severe adverse health effects related to the use of e-cigarettes, have the right to seek damages in product liability lawsuits. If you have suffered a stroke, lung injury, or another serious injury as a result of vaping, contact a Dallas defective products lawyer.

What are E-Cigarettes?

E-cigarettes are a fairly new but popular way to consume tobacco; the first tobacco vaporizing products became available on the market in 2003, and by 2021, there were about 82 million e-cigarette users worldwide, mostly in the United States, Europe, and China. An e-cigarette consists of a refillable cartridge, a battery or other power source, and an atomizer that heats the liquid in the cartridge into a vapor, which the user then inhales. Because e-cigarettes deliver nicotine as vapor instead of smoke, using them is usually called vaping. The liquids with which to fill e-cigarettes often contain flavors in addition to the tobacco, so the experience is somewhat like smoking flavored tobacco from a water pipe.

Is Vaping Less Dangerous Than Smoking?

One reason for the popularity of e-cigarettes is that consumers see them as more cost-effective and less harmful to the environment in terms of air pollution, but most importantly, there is a popular perception that vaping has fewer and less severe health hazards than tobacco smoking.  These are some common reasons that e-cigarette users cite for choosing e-cigarettes over conventional cigarettes or for switching from smoking to vaping:

• Unlike conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes do not contain tar
• Vaping does not harm users’ exercise tolerance as much as smoking does
• People who have recently quit vaping tend not to gain as much weight as people who have recently quit smoking
• Side effects such as cough, sore throat, and excessive phlegm production are less common with vaping than with smoking
• The level of carcinogens is lower in tobacco vapor than in tobacco smoke
• There have been many fewer vaping-related deaths than smoking-related deaths

Despite this, e-cigarettes contain at least as much nicotine as conventional cigarettes. Whether you smoke or vape, you are still at risk of nicotine-related side effects such as headache and nausea, and nicotine contains carcinogens, no matter what delivery system you use.

BOOP, EVALI, and Other Vaping-Associated Health Hazards

Serious adverse effects related to vaping are common enough that Juul and other popular e-cigarette manufacturers have been named as defendants in product liability lawsuits, and 2022 saw proposed bans on the sale of e-cigarettes. Incidents of hemorrhagic stroke, in which intracranial bleeding prevents blood from reaching certain areas of the brain, have been linked to e-cigarette use. E-cigarette liquid is very harmful if swallowed, and while e-cigarettes are designed so that correct use of the device effectively prevents accidental swallowing of vape liquid, the system does not always work perfectly.

A 2019 article in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology reported that bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP), also known as cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP), was common in people with a history of e-cigarette use. Before the publication of this article, BOOP was believed to be rare in people without pre-existing inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. 

In the same year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported cases of a previously unreported form of lung injury known as e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). Most of the affected patients were males below the age of 30. The disease seemed to be associated with unregulated cannabis vaping liquid. In 2019 and 2020, more than 2,087 people were hospitalized with EVALI, and 68 died.

E-Cigarette Product Liability Lawsuits

If you have suffered a serious injury or illness because of vaping, you may be entitled to recover damages through an individual product liability lawsuit or a class action lawsuit. To get the court to rule in your favor, you must convincingly argue that the defendant (the manufacturer of the e-cigarette device or vape liquid) knew about the risks associated with the product but failed to notify the public. You can also win your case if you show that the defendant did not know about the risks, but they should have known, and they did not do their due diligence in investigating the risks before offering the product for sale. You must also demonstrate that your injury is the direct result of the product and that you suffered financial losses, such as medical bills and lost income due to inability to work because of your illness, or because of the defendant’s negligence.

Contact Marchand Law, LLP, About Product Liability Lawsuits

The law protects consumers from dangerous and defective products. A personal injury attorney can help you seek compensation if you suffered a preventable injury due to the normal use of e-cigarettes or another consumer product. Contact Marchand Law, LLP in Dallas, Texas to discuss your case.