SUSSEX COUNTY, Del.- A Center for Disease Control and Prevention official testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday about the growing number of vaping related lung diseases, but some think vaping isn't as bad as it seems.
The CDC reports over 500 cases of lung injury cases across the country, including several that were fatal.
"The epidemic is moving faster than our data gathering. We really are losing people in the meantime," said CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat.
Shelby Pryor, the owner of Dawg House Vapor & Glass Pipes in Lewes, said his shop is trying to help people.
"We try to target the smokers. If we can't get them to quit, at least cut back. And the vaping has been a very, very positive tool for that," said Pryor. "We have a handful of people in a nation of 325 million that, you know, got sick. It's just a handful, it's not an epidemic at this point."
Samantha Zuckowich, 24, visited Rehoboth Beach with her friends on Thursday. She told WBOC that the danger of vaping isn't vaping itself, but companies that target young people.
"A lot of our parents and grandparents started smoking regular cigarettes when they were in their teens or early adulthood and a lot of them now are dealing with COPD and cancer," said Zuckowich. "The habits you make when you're younger tend to be the stuff you stick to when you get older."