11 month old baby forced to vape
Warning: distressing
Lifestyle
Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A sickening video of an 11-month-old baby coughing and choking after being encouraged to smoke a vape has rightly sparked outrage among Australians.
In a disturbing video posted online, a mother from Kempsey on NSW's mid-north coast can be seen laughing and commenting as her baby's aunt places an e-cigarette into her child's mouth.
"Would you like to try it?" the mother asks, as the baby boy coughs and exhales smoke to the great amusement of presumed family members in the background.
Like what you see? Sign up to our bodyandsoul.com.au newsletter for more stories like this.
Alarming studies have begun to emerge, revealing the serious health risks associated with the use of e-cigarettes, also known as vapes. And the untold harm they are causing by introducing smoking to an entirely new generation. Evidence shows that e-cigarette use can lead to lung damage, both short and long-term.
What was perhaps worse than exposing the infant to vaping and then laughing about it, was the decision to post the video online. However, it can be deduced that posting it online exposed the family for condoning such a heinous act. And the outrage has been justified.
Comments on the video included, “How can you put the vape up to your own son’s mouth and watch him suck on it and laugh while he’s choking and coughing.”
It has been reported that as a result of the video being posted, NSW Police were sent the videos and went to check on the welfare of a baby on the Mid North Coast. Yet there have been no arrests.
The video's comments indicate that the infant has been taken to the hospital. However, it's unclear whether he was admitted for treatment or simply for observation.
However, it has also been argued that the video may have helped to normalise and promote this incredibly dangerous behaviour, since we are human after all and monkey see monkey do, especially in this viral video era. Do you remember the planking challenge?!
Since viewers online have gone into a frenzy of anger and fury at the mother's audacity, hopefully anyone who condones this behaviour has been better informed.However, the mother has responded to her critics by defending herself in a Facebook comment.
“Every c*** got the hide to sit there and talk about me and my child, take a look in yas own backyard,” she wrote. “You ain’t perfect either so keep that mouth going you ain’t scary, you’re nothing but bums.”
Originally published as 11 month old baby forced to vape