A driver got an unpleasant surprise after her tire was punctured by an improperly disposed of product that has exploded in popularity.
"Somebody threw a vape pen out their window and blew out my wife's brand-new tire," the person's spouse shared on Reddit in the r/Justrolledintotheshop community. An image reveals someone holding a heavily damaged e-cigarette.
"Found this inside the tire. Also, tires are expensive AF!" the original poster added, to which several commenters agreed.
The OP isn't the only one who has found themselves in the repair shop after an unfortunate encounter with e-cigarette litter.
Several years ago, another Redditor shared a photo of a vape that had punctured their tire. On this thread, a commenter shared their tale.
"I was on my way to a very good job interview and got a violent flat on the highway. It was a purple vape pen sticking out of what was left of my tire," the commenter wrote. "Thankfully, the interview team got a laugh out of the picture, but I waited an hour for roadside."
While the commenter's situation seems to have had a happy ending, e-cigarette waste is certainly not doing our planet any favors.
Cigarette butts are already the most plentiful form of plastic waste. One study found that 4.5 trillion are discarded annually. That's concerning enough, considering that most plastics are made from polluting fuels like motor oil and gasoline.
However, tobacco product waste also contains more than 7,000 toxic chemicals, including ones linked to cancer, as detailed by OceanCare. These chemicals then leach into our soil, inhibiting plant growth and possibly ending up in our food supply.
A report by Truth Initiative revealed that e-cigarette waste isn't any better. In fact, it wrote that it "is potentially a more serious environmental threat than cigarette butts."
This is because e-cigarette waste introduces heavy metals, lead, mercury, nicotine salts, and flammable battery components into the environment — in addition to plastic.
To dispose of e-cigarettes, the nonprofit recommends participating in local household hazardous waste programs. If that's not an option, it suggests removing the battery and bringing it to the appropriate recycling center. The rest of the item can be returned on a DEA Take Back Day.
Meanwhile, one commenter highlighted a common misconception that vaping doesn't have the potential to cause serious health problems, even if it's less harmful than smoking cigarettes.
"Add that to the list of deadly side effects of vaping!" they wrote on the original post.
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