What disturbs me is that things of this same sort certainly happen today, and we as consumers are likely just as blind to it as they were then
Vapes come to mind
Vapes genuinely would be a huge amount safer than tobacco if people were using the kind of vapes that the comparative studies were done with. However, in real life, people buy the cheap ones and/or the dodgy imported-despite-not-meeting-local-regulation ones, where it’s just not viable to do things like avoid contaminating them with heavy metals like Cadmium. Cheap smuggled cigarettes aren’t that much worse than regular cigarettes. Cheap smuggled disposable vapes are much worse than top-end reusable vapes.
While the Cadmium is bad because its a heavy metal, I thought the worse things from bad vapes was the other metals in the alloys in the heating element such as Nickel and Chromium. One specific risk is the production of hexavalent chromium from the heating element. This compound has this wonderful side effect from osha.gov:
“Certain hexavalent chromium compounds produced lung cancer in animals that had the compounds placed directly in their lungs.”
I was doing home experiments creating hydrogen at small scales using cheap stainless steel electrodes for electrolysis. While I was in a highly ventilated area, when I learned that hexavalent chromium was being produced I gave up on it because the health risks weren’t worth it, and I wasn’t doing something that directly inhaled the gases produced, unlike vaping.
When you’re concerned about BPAs, so you put a lead lining on all your Tupperware.
When you’re concerned about saturated fats, so you switch to deep frying your french fries in hydrogenated canola oil.
“Modern day problems need modern day solutions!” – Kent, 1952
Try our new death sticks! Now with 50% extra death!
Hell yeah, asbestos cigarette filters.
With advertising like that I’m moving to Kent too. Fuck off Marlboro
But wait!
Did you know that more Doctors Smoke Camels?!
Did they get double cancer or did the 2 cancers cancel each other out?
Legally not allowed to have two at the same time
But good news for the asbestos - cancer isn’t the only problem that asbestosis can use to kill you.
Funnily enough, they actually got cold war.
Pretty sure this is unironically what killed my paternal grandpa.
Probably better than the microplastics from modern filters…
Now this may be a stretch
