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It’s clear that vaping is being increasingly normalized across generations, especially among Generation Z. In an effort to entice users, vape companies have rolled out absurd innovations, from touch screens, built-in games and even music streaming features that successfully target teenagers.

This push to the public, paired with a rise in depression and anxiety in youth that’s linked to vape use, has created an insatiable demand for disposable batteries. But each battery requires cobalt, a resource that is predominantly supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In fact, 70% of the world’s supply comes from Congo, where child labor and mass displacement are part of daily life.

Congo is grappling with what the United Nations calls one of the “largest humanitarian crises in the world,” worsened by the global demand for minerals like cobalt. According to grassroots-led group, Save the Congo, a woman is raped every minute in Congo. Yet, while health repercussions dominate media narratives surrounding vaping, the environmental and humanitarian costs remain largely unaddressed. Even popular nonprofits like Greenpeace and the Truth Initiative, which mention social justice concerns, fail to highlight the unethical sourcing of materials like cobalt and the environmental justice crisis in Congo.

The mineral-rich eastern region of Congo has been locked in conflict for years, with over 6.9 million people forcibly displaced. According to Al Jazeera, the war in the Congo is rooted in colonial exploitation that continued post-independence and has since spiraled into a brutal neo-colonial power struggle.

In 1960, Congo’s first democratically elected leader, Patrice Lumumba, made a pledge to use the country’s immense resources toward the benefit of the people. Lumumba was assassinated within six months of his election, paving the way for three decades of dictatorship under Mobutu Sese Seko.

Additional pressure, such as violence from nearby conflicts like the 1994 genocide of the Rwandan people, has trapped eastern Congo in a cycle of violence that has claimed and displaced millions of lives. Pressures like this make it nearly impossible to tackle pressing issues like child labor and human rights abuses in the mining industry.

Five disposable vapes are thrown away every second by young people in America. Over the course of a year, 150 million plastic nicotine devices are disposed of without consideration of the ethical effects of their consumerism.

Intersectional environmentalism, a term coined by Leah Thomas in 2020 inspired by Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectional theory, “focuses on achieving climate justice by amplifying historically excluded voices and approaching environmental education, policy, and activism with equity, inclusion, and restorative justice in mind.” Intersectionality highlights the need for holistic rhetoric and solutions that uplift justice and marginalized narratives.

Selective advocacy concerns are harmful to communities because of the ignorance that occurs in one’s head when justifying their inaction. Vaping, along with any technology reliant on lithium, is tainted by neo-colonial slavery. We must acknowledge the intersectional costs of our greedy overconsumption — we don’t need vapes to survive, but the people of the Congo need us to stop exploiting this mineral so they can finally breathe the air of liberation.

I recognize that lithium-ion batteries, made with cobalt, are an essential tool in the transition away from fossil fuels. They power electric vehicles and store renewable energy, which are critical for the future of our planet. But, no climate solution can justify human rights violations. As scientists work toward creating cobalt-free batteries, consumers can take steps now by choosing products that do not further fuel the crisis in the Congo.

While it’s unrealistic to expect people to give up their phones or laptops entirely, quitting vapes and e-cigarettes is a more attainable goal. Not only is quitting better for our health, but it also empowers us to take the first step in creating the humanitarian change we so desperately need in our world.

For the one quarter of college students who vape regularly, I urge you to deeply consider your actions’ impact on the people of Congo. Small changes in our consumption can shift demand away from unethical practices, pushing us toward a future where justice isn’t sacrificed for convenience.
Every puff from a disposable vape is linked to the exploitation of vulnerable communities, environmental degradation and the perpetuation of systemic injustice. The systems of oppression that exploit Congolese children for cobalt mining also sustain inequalities across the globe — disproportionately affecting marginalized communities while privileging others.

Alex Levy | Contributing Designer

Author Siddharth Kara, in his book “Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives,” drives home this point, emphasizing that, “Never in human history has there been so much suffering that generated so much profit that directly touched the lives of more people around the world.” The harsh truth is that millions of people are suffering to fuel the West’s need for convenience — whether it’s disposable vapes, electric cars or smartphones.

True wellness can’t exist within a framework that profits from the suffering of others. If we genuinely seek personal and collective well-being, we must reject the conveniences built on exploitation and conditioned by capitalism and channel our resources toward dismantling the systems that oppress us all.
Liberation is not a personal journey but a collective one, requiring unity in the fight against forces that dehumanize and destroy. It’s time to stop finding comfort in products that perpetuate injustice and start building a future where wellness and freedom are shared and sustainable.

Valeria Martinez Gutierrez is a junior majoring in Geography, Sociology and Environment, Sustainability and Policy. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at vmarti10@syr.edu.

Published on October 31, 2024 at 12:38 am