illicit drugs and not legitimate vaping products," martin dockrell, overseer of tobacco control at public health england, stated in september 2019. australia as a result of a potential link between vaping and lung illness in the us, the australian medical association stated on 18 september 2019, that they reiterate a precautionary approach for the use of vaping products. india following a string of deaths tied to vaping in the us, india has banned the sales of vaping products in september 2019. world health organization dr. vinayak prasad, overseer of tobacco control at world health organization, told cnn on 12 september 2019, that who was observing the events in the us and abroad and will provide information to governments at the appropriate time. prasad also stated that its member states have not made any announcements of lung illnesses that resemble those that were observed in the us. hospitalized patients news media featured hospitalized lung vaping illness patients in narratives including the following: dehydration from nausea, multifocal pneumonia, sepsis, acute respiratory failure with hypoxemia, and blood clots, necessitating a medically induced coma and removal of fluid from the lungs. vomiting, coughing up blood, and lipid pneumonia nausea, chest pains, shortness of breath, and acute respiratory distress syndrome necessitating extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ecmo) shoulder and back pain, double lung collapse vomiting, fever, sweating, painful coughing, bronchitis, and double pneumonia in a patient who had vaped thc vomiting up food, oil and water in the lungs, requiring supplemental oxygen for daily activities severe pain in the side, lung collapse, "black spots" on the lungs in a patient using about half a juul mint pod a day for about 18 months. chest and back pain from recurrent pneumothoraces (air in the chest outside of the lungs) trouble breathing, necessitating a ventilator and medically induced coma. the 18-year-old patient says she bought vaping products from a smoke shop that did not ask for her id card, enabling her to lie and claim that she was 22. dizziness, vomiting, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, necessitating supplemental oxygen. breathing problems mistaken for the flu or stomach virus, eventually requiring ecmo difficulty breathing, requiring supplemental oxygen and steroids, diagnosed as popcorn lung. dizziness and vomiting, problems breathing diagnosed as pneumonitis patient discovered unresponsive in bedroom, mucus and blood coming from lungs, cardiac arrest double lung transplant for a 17-year-old from michigan on 15 october 2019, believed to be the first such procedure due to vaping criticism of vaping bans critics of vaping bans state that vaping is a much safer alternative to smoking tobacco products and that vaping bans incentivize people to return to smoking cigarettes. for example, critics cite the british journal of family medicine in august 2015 which stated, "e-cigarettes are 95% safer than traditional smoking." additionally, san francisco's chief economist, ted egan, when discussing the san francisco vaping ban stated the city's ban on e-cigarette sales will increase smoking as vapers switch to combustible cigarettes. critics of smoking bans stress the absurdity of criminalizing the sale of a safer alternative to tobacco while tobacco continues to be legal. prominent proponents of smoking bans are not in favor of criminalizing tobacco either, but rather allowing consumers to have the choice to choose whatever products they desire. in 2022, after two years of review, the food and drug administration (fda) denied juul's application to keep its tobacco and menthol flavored vaping products on the market. critics of this denial note that research published in nicotine and tobacco research found that smokers who transitioned to juuls in north america were significantly more likely to switch to vaping than those in the united kingdom who only had access to lower-strength nicotine products. this happens as the biden administration seeks to mandate low-nicotine cigarettes which, critics note, is not what makes cigarettes dangerous. they also note that vaping does not contain many of the components that make smoking dangerous such as the combustion process and certain chemicals that are present in cigarettes that are not present in vape products. in 2022, brian king, the head of the fda's center for tobacco products, has stated, "we do know that e-cigarettes — as a general class — have markedly less risk than a combustible cigarette product." when asked by reason whether the fda is going to commit any resources to correct misperceptions about e-cigarettes, king responded with "i can't commit to any specific actions."