Dark History
161: Saving Millions or Making us SICK?? The Shocking Truth Behind Vaping
Wed, 26 Feb 2025
Hi friends, happy Wednesday! Even though it’s super controversial, it seems like everyone is vaping these days. If you’ve ever watched my FYP videos, you know that I like to take a hit of the devil’s lettuce from a vape pen. But every time I post one of those videos, without fail, someone is like, [annoying voice] “vaping is so bad for you!” or “hell yeah, I’m hitting my vape pen right now.” People are always on opposite sides of the fence. So of course, I had to bite the bullet and do some research. Who the hell invented the vape pen? And are they *really* that bad for you? I appreciate you for coming by, and tune in next week for more Dark History. I sometimes talk about my Good Reads in the show. So here's the link if you want to check it out. IDK. lol: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/139701263-bailey ________ FOLLOW ME AROUND Tik Tok: https://bit.ly/3e3jL9v Instagram: http://bit.ly/2nbO4PR Facebook: http://bit.ly/2mdZtK6 Twitter: http://bit.ly/2yT4BLV Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2mVpXnY Youtube: http://bit.ly/1HGw3Og Snapchat: https://bit.ly/3cC0V9d Discord: https://discord.gg/BaileySarian RECOMMEND A STORY HERE: [email protected] Business Related Emails: [email protected] Business Related Mail: Bailey Sarian 4400 W. Riverside Dr., Ste 110-300 Burbank, CA 91505 ________ Credits: This podcast is Executive Produced by: Bailey Sarian & Kevin Grosch and Joey Scavuzzo from Made In Network Head Writer: Allyson Philobos Writer: Katie Burris Additional Writing: Jessica Charles Research provided by: Coleen Smith Special thank you to our Historical Consultant: Chelsea Boyd, epidemiologist and health policy thought leader. Director: Brian Jaggers Additional Editing: Julien Perez and Maria Norris Post Supervisor: Kelly Hardin Production Management: Ross Woodruff Hair: Luca Burnett Makeup: Nikki La Rose ________ Get your first visit for only five dollars at https://www.Apostrophe.com/DARKHISTORY when you use our code: DARKHISTORY. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to https://www.RocketMoney.com/DARKHISTORY today! Calm the chaos of order fulfillment with the shipping software that delivers. Go to https://www.shipstation.com and use code DARKHISTORY to sign up for your FREE trial. Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to https://www.Zocdoc.com/DARKHISTORY to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today!
Chapter 1: What makes vaping so controversial today?
the other day i was in the mood to watch an old movie so i turned on casablanca and if you watch old movies there's something that you notice that maybe you forgot about there's always so much smoking, right? And the movies in like, well, Casablanca was in all black and white. So it just, it looks so, everyone just looks so cool and so sophisticated. And they're just like, what did you say?
And it made me wonder like 50 years from now when they make movies about us, will we all have vapes in our hands? I mean, if they want like the movie to be accurate, vapes might be included. It seems to be a controversial topic, but to be fair, everyone is vaping these days.
If you've ever watched my TikTok like for you page videos on Instagram, you know that I take, I like to take a hit of the devil's lettuce from a vape pen. But every time I post one of those videos without fail, someone is like, you know, vaping so bad for you, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, yeah, I know, you know, People are always on opposite sides of the fence, really.
And like, look, real talk here, real talk. People always say like, well, it's better than smoking cigarettes. And you're like, well, okay. She's like, I don't know, you know? So of course, naturally, I was like, look, we gotta like look into this, right? Who the hell invented the vape pen? And are they really that bad for you? Spoiler alert, let me just say the answer might surprise you.
Welcome to the dark history of vaping. Hi friends, I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian, and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Here, we believe history does not have to be boring. It might be tragic, sometimes it's happy, but either way, it's our dark history.
Before we get into it, don't forget to like and subscribe, because I'm always here for you, posting new content. And let me know what you think in the comment section, because I read them at the end. Did you know that? Okay, well now let's get into it. Before we get started, let's all get on the same page about what I mean when I say the word vape.
There are a ton of different names, brands, and products that are associated with vaping. E-cigarettes, vaporizers, e-pipes, hookah pens, jewels. Are jewels still around? Vape, whatever. But essentially, they all do the same thing. They're all battery-powered devices that heat up a liquid, then turn it into vapor. And then you inhale, and it tastes good, because they have a lot of good flavors.
Over the last 10 years, it seems like these vape pens have just really come out of nowhere. It's like, suddenly your Aunt Barbara is sucking on a banana ice-flavored puff bar. And you're like, let me hit that. Is it good? But the truth is, vape pens have been around in some form for almost 100 years. I know. I was like, I know nothing, you know? And it all started with a man named Joseph Robinson.
You see, in 1927, Joseph invented something called the Mechanical Butane Ignition Vaporizer. Rolls right off the tongue. But he didn't invent this device for smoking. Instead, he wanted to make something that could help people inhale their medicine. Almost like an inhaler for asthma, but... You know, not for asthma. He designed the device and even got a patent for it in 1930.
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Chapter 2: Who invented the vape pen and why?
After they graduated, they moved to Silicon Valley and began a startup based around Plume. But right away, it wasn't going so well. The plume needed butane fuel in order to work, so users had to carry a little can of fuel with them in order to refill. Talk about an inconvenience. Also, apparently the plume would sometimes electrically shock users when they used it. So it was a good idea.
They just needed to work out the kinks. So they ended up getting a $10 million investment and redesigned the plume into... The Pax pen. Okay, this I remember. I remember Pax pens. Now, these were, this was the beginning, right? So things are like ridiculously priced. The Pax pen was $250. So who's gonna buy that, okay? And yeah, Bob down the street can like not buy cigarettes for a week.
And I'm sure he would have the $250 to do that. But Bob's not gonna do that because he needs his fix now, you know? So it wasn't really exactly for everyone. James and Adam, they knew the only way that they would attract the younger everyday person was to design something with a reasonable price tag and also give them that good hit of nicotine. So they got the design down.
They came up with a four inch long device that honestly looked like a USB drive. It had these flashing lights that would activate as soon as you sucked on it and inhaled. They called this creation The Jewel. They called it jewel because of a jewel, like jewelry. Yeah, nothing deeper than that really. I thought it was like a cute name. No, just like jewelry.
With the Juul, it's supposed to be, quote, discreet and aesthetically pleasing, making the user feel like they have a little piece of modern luxury. And they spelled it out that way just to stand out. The Juul was invented in 2015. They kicked off marketing for Juul right away to try and make vaping appealing and easier and an option.
They went right after companies like Vice Magazine, which mostly targeted young people. They took out a Times Square billboard. They sent free samples of Juul to people like Leonardo DiCaprio and Bella Hadid. And they did whatever they thought they should do to make the product cool and in the public eye, you know? And it worked. By the end of 2017, Juul was the number one vape pen in America.
And by 2018, the company was valued at $15 billion. Insanity. Literally three years after it hit the market. That is insane. I loved my Juul though. I had a Juul. I loved it. There was like a mango. I would just like suck on it all day. It was so easy to use. It was like small. I don't know. I liked them. I liked it a lot.
Even though Juul was a preferred vape pen in America, they were starting to get called out for their questionable marketing. Life in general can be chaotic, but if you're in charge of order fulfillment for an e-commerce business, good luck, because that's a different kind of chaos. But with ShipStation, you can count on your day-to-day remaining calm. Don't freak out.
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