Young Mormons lured into believing tobacco-free vapes had fallen under their church's radar have just watched their mango, mint and watermelon dreams go up in smoke.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints scriptures already prohibits alcohol, tobacco, illegal drug, and even coffee/tea consumption. Now they've officially come down on e-cigarettes in this month's edition of its official youth magazine, the New Era.
"Electronic vaporizers or e-cigarettes are devices people use to inhale mist, usually with various flavors. One study showed that nearly two-thirds of teen e-cigarette users thought that the pods they were vaping contained only flavoring. That's way, way far from the truth. Most vaping pods contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, and all of them contain harmful chemicals. Vaping is clearly against the Word of Wisdom."
Vapor Madness
The move comes as vaping continues its meteoric rise in popularity amongst young people-- something that has watchdogs worried. Though not quite as toxic as tobacco, nicotine the Center for Disease Control deemed e-cigarettes dangerous to the "developing adolescent brain", particularly those areas governing important functions like self-control, attention, and mood. Medical findings have also found vaping can damage the lungs and increase the risk of strokes and heart attacks.
However, those facts haven't stopped young people from their mistaken belief that vapes are harmless. The level of nicotine in a single JUUL pod is equivalent to that of an entire pack of cigarettes. And they are often sold in a form that resembles a USB flash drive, which makes it particularly challenging for parents and teachers to spot.
Interestingly, the LDS church has anticipated similar historical health hazards.
When church founder Joseph Smith first opened his School of the Prophets in Kirtland, Ohio back in January 1833, some 25 elders from all corners of the country would pack that tiny, dingy room, "light a pipe and begin to talk about the great things of the kingdom and puff away," before proceeding to chew tobacco and spit it all over the floor.
It's here that the Mormon Church prophet attempted to teach these men to become holy, "without spot," and worthy of the presence of God, creating the Doctrine and Covenants 89, known today as the Word of Wisdom, which forbids the consumption of alcohol, drugs and hot drinks, cautions against eating too much meat and favors "wholesome herbs, fruit, and grains for pure, healthy and holy living."
Ban It Like Brigham
The LDS church continues to catch a lot of flack for their prohibition of certain foods and beverages. Students at Brigham Young University had to fight for the right to simple canned caffeinated sodas back in 2012. And more than a few Mormons still can't understand why antioxidant green tea remains a banned substance.
Interestingly, LDS leadership has also shown some willingness to bend its own rules lately. Last year's decision to back legislation allowing the sale of medical marijuana in the traditionally conservative state of Utah.
On its face, this would seem a rather rational decision based on solid scientific evidence.
What are your thoughts? Has Mormon leadership made the right call by officially coming down on vapes? Or is their judgment clouded?
10 comments
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Lori
It's not wrong to promote good health. That green tea thing has me a bit puzzled. That's one of the good ones. I don't know much about vaping, but I did smoke back away. I'm very glad I quit. It's too bad these products are so popular with the kids. There will always be substances out there that will mess people up. You just have to raise your kids with the knowledge of what can hurt them. What else can be done? Government enforced bans? That could get out of control as well.
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John
The “trend” factor doesn’t help as currently like back in the 50’s it’s seen as what the “cool” kids do.
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Bennie Fulghum
Vaping for anyone is bad and worse than smoking because when you vape you actually take in liquid chemicals not just smoke. Yes smoke gets into the lungs but the chemicals eat the lungs. No even speaking of the fact vaping the quanity of 20 packs of cigerretts in one vape. This is not even taking into consideration of the people who catch fire when the battery explodes, if I were going to have a choice between Vaping or smoking it would be smoking.
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Preacher Man
I can understand why the Mormon Church banned vaping. Unfortunately, human nature has blessed each and everyone of us with a pernicious stubborn streak. As soon as something is banned, the more everyone wants it. An informational campaign would have probably yielded better results than an outright ban. But, more people.would have ended up with respiratory issues in the interim.
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Jen
How about people stop listening to the Mormon Church and their goofy outdated "banned" list and actually start thinking for themselves.
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Secretary3rd
Studies show that it will cause lung problems. Those who sell illegal drugs love it because they can lace the vapor with their own products and the police is not any wiser.
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Robert A Segesman
Such a grey area, as caffeine is not the only substance "possibly" bad for you in coffee. LDS members are now allowed to drink it in beverages other than coffee. Nicotine is not the only bad substance in tobacco, the word of Wisdom specifies tobacco, not nicotine, as it states coffee and not caffeine. As for Tea, it's not mentioned. Only "Hot drinks", so I think warm or cold "tea" should be fine. At the time of writing of the word of wisdom, tea was always hot, so an assumption was made. Hot "Postom" should be drank either. Any non hot beverage should be acceptable (Except coffee, named specifically.) Is vaping deemed bad by "revelation" or consensus?
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Daniel
Vaping is probably not good for you. Just like any number of other things that are less than ideal for promoting physical health. However, I cant help but think that religious based bans are contrary to what jesus taught. I know there's something in the new testament that basically says it's not what goes into a person but what comes out of a person that makes them "dirty" or "unclean". So, based on that, vaping would be okay - as long as you dont exhale LOL. Still, religions should not overly focus on matters of the flesh when the flesh is just the vehicle driven by the actual being. Improve the Being by helping to remember our true selves and the rest will not be an issue. As I have a cigarette and cup of coffee while writing this, knowing that who I really am is unaffected either way by either one.
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Nanette Lemmon
I realize that I am joining the conversation very late. However, I do feel the need to interject my bits of "wisdom" and join in the throng. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints word of wisdom was written in the 1800's. Although, at the time, it was very forward thinking on health concerns, it does not state every possibile item that can be fathomed in today's world. There are lots of chemicals we use for soaps/calogne/housecleaners . . . that one would not of even imagined 200 years ago. It never has been an exact list of "you must," "don't do's," "live this way or that". Instead, it is a list of guidance to treat your body as a sacred, holy thing. Some of it is simple, straight forward, do eat fruits and vegetables with prudence and thanksgiving. Other thing, like "hot drinks", is a little more vague and this is possibly because it would be crazy to try to fit everyone into a tiny little book of scripture. As Daniel said in the above comment, "flesh is the vehicle driven by the actual being." However, we do have flesh and we do need to take care of our bodies. To me, a church that says, "hey you shouldn't put chemicals in your body", seems to be on the look out for their congregants. Should they say, "you CAN'T?" That is not for me to decide. Preacher Man, if one is wanting to be rebelious, they are acting out on their own natural man. "For dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return." We mortal beings do want to be rebelious. Yet, I do tell my children they can or can't do certain things. They can't run in the street to get their ball because a car can hit them. Right? A good child will do as their parents ask, even though they don't understand the "why" of it all. If a child is respectful, honest and true to their parents, they will do as they are told. Then, as they age the parents have the responsibility to instruct, "don't go in the street unless . . ." As they mature they are told it is okay to stand in the street if they want to converse with they neighbors, just don't do it while crossing the street in downtown USA. I do this to instruct and protect, to guide and then, when the time is right, and set them free to determine if they can/should do something. I believe that blog posts are great for starting conversations like these; they do get people to think for themselves. I believe that a person needs to improve upon their own beings. I do mean their spirits, but also their flesh. As an adult, when my doctor said to me I can't eat gluten or I will die (Yes, this is truth), I listened and obeyed because I felt he knew what he was saying to me. However, when I was a child my mother gave me all kinds of whole wheat because it was good for my belly. Does that mean that my mom was a jerk? A liar? Does that mean she was unwise in having me eat wheat toast for breakfast? I am going to say "no". I am certain that my mother raised me the best she could. As new information has come about, I am certain if my mother was still alive, she wouldn't let me go near gluten. "All grain is for the use of man." I don't think this statement is wrong. Nor do I feel that I should eat wheat, rye or barley. Is it possible that if someone uses information out of context, they just might be getting some information wrong? Could you personally be looking askew at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Are there possibly bits and bobs that you don't know? It is always good to look more into a situation before you jump into a conclusion on any particular topic. Here is a link to go straight to the horses mouth. Then, one can judge for themselves if it be clouded over judgement or if it was wise words to their congragants. https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/statement-word-of-wisdom-august-2019
It does appear that there is an increase in lung related health issues, especially with teenagers that vape, so it doesn't surprise me that the LDS church is clamping down on it.
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