By Kaitlyn Adams
Depending on the company you keep, you're likely aware of the thriving disposable vape industry. In a world dominated by single-use products and nicotine addiction, the rise of these devices is hardly surprising. Disposable vapes have surged in popularity over the past few years, with brands like Juul, PuffBars, and ElfBars leading the charge in high school bathrooms all across America. These products are often disguised as toys and clearly marketed to children and teenagers, normalizing nicotine addiction for a new generation. However, the latest star of the industry is the GeekBar, a device almost exactly like all the rest, except for its added "innovative" feature: a screen displaying battery and juice percentages.
At their core, disposable vapes represent the worst of consumer culture: fleeting convenience at a significant cost. These single-use devices are built to be thrown away after just a few weeks, contributing to the already overwhelming global problem of electronic waste. Each vape contains a lithium-ion battery, precious metals, and plastics that rarely get recycled, making their environmental impact catastrophic.
Financially, these devices are equally irresponsible. Users are spending hundreds of dollars each year on what is, effectively, an easier and more convenient way to get your fix. The disposable vape offers nothing that traditional reusable vaping devices, smoking, and other forms of nicotine cannot, apart from the promise of immediate gratification. Yet this convenience comes at the expense of both the planet and the wallet.
The absurdity of it all becomes clearer when you realize that the industry thrives not because these devices solve a problem, but because they offer a quick, thoughtless way to satisfy cravings. Disposable vapes epitomize the unsustainable consumption that plagues modern life.
The vape industry has moved far beyond its initial purpose of providing a nicotine alternative. The escalation in design is almost comical—companies are in a race to see who can create the most ridiculous, over-the-top product. A friend recently showed me a GeekBar in which the entire surface was a screen resembling the starlit roof of a Rolls Royce. My curiosity led me to the GeekBar website, where I found an even more absurd model: a vape featuring animated solar system graphics, complete with labeled planets.
The insanity didn’t stop there. In a shop I frequent, I found a vape called Ooze that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker. A quick search online revealed even crazier options: vapes with Tetris, racing games, and Pac-Man built into touch screens. There’s one with a camera lens and SD card and another—by a company called Swype—that functions as a pseudo-smartwatch and syncs with your iPhone. These products have shifted from satisfying nicotine addiction to being novelty gadgets designed to grab attention.
What started as a product designed for functionality has turned into a bizarre game of “What won’t they buy?” The answer seems to be nothing. These companies have mastered the art of exploiting consumer desires for novelty and distraction, turning harmful habits into additional entertainment. But perhaps the blame doesn’t lie solely with the companies. Consumers, too, bear responsibility for fueling this cycle by continuously choosing convenience and entertainment over sustainability and accountability. By indulging in these unnecessary and wasteful products, we reinforce the industry’s tactics, effectively encouraging them to push the boundaries further.
By disguising harmful products as fun and harmless, they’ve normalized nicotine addiction for an entire generation. What’s worse, they’ve blurred the lines between necessity and novelty, making these devices feel indispensable. Vapes are no longer just tools for nicotine delivery; they’re toys, accessories, and distractions.
There’s something undeniably dystopian about the disposable vape industry. We’ve allowed ourselves to be manipulated by companies that profit from not only our addiction and wastefulness but also our need for distraction.
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