Cobalt revolt
Children on TikTok are quitting vaping in support of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sorry, that's a lot of of the
s right there, but ne'ermind.
DR Congo is the world's primary source of cobalt used in lithium batteries, including those found in disposable vape pens. I've long thought vaping was bad news for both health and environmental reasons. So at least kids are quitting, which is great, whatever the motivation.
What seems to have gone unremarked upon, however, is that the batteries used in the same mobile devices used to access TikTok, as well as electric vehicles, probably dwarf the cobalt used in vape pens. In that light, the vape quitting's only a symbolic gesture. But every little helps, I guess, so best not to mention it. (secret)
Vaping may be a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, but that doesn't mean it's safe. Nicotine, at least, has been implicated in as a cause of cardiovascular disease; and then there's the as-yet uncharacterised risk associated with inhaling the solvents and their pyrolysis products. From an environmental perspective, I can't imagine that all those disposables are recycled considerately, resulting in a loss of precious mineral resources to general waste.