A new Mercedes owner is thankful he bought his “fancy shmancy” new vehicle because it showed him the dangers of vaping in real time.
TikTok user Sheldon (@thisdadtiktoks) heaped boatloads of praise on his car’s HEPA air filtration system, which details particulate matter both inside and outside of the car.
In his video, he expresses his surprise at seeing the particulate matter count skyrocket after a vape is hit in his ride. However, numerous TikTokers say his comprehension of the system’s figures isn’t wholly formed.
Did Mercedes prove vaping is bad?
“Mercedes Benz PROVES Vaping is bad,” a text overlay reads at the top of Sheldon’s video. He begins his clip by speaking directly into the camera with a concerned look on his face. “Oh my God, I just got a new fancy shmancy Mercedes,” he narrates, panning his camera around.
The car appears to have a high-end, luxurious interior. It’s sporting white leather seats and a large-screen infotainment system. “My Mercedes just, oh my God I can’t even talk,” the creator says.
Immediately, his clip transitions to him holding a green nicotine vape bar up to the camera. “Do you want proof that vaping is bad for you? Let me show you something. You need to share this video…send this to everybody you know. Oh my God.”
What does a HEPA air filter do?
Next, his clip’s focus is on the car’s infotainment system. Sheldon shows it off as he discusses the vehicle’s air filtration capabilities. “OK so my new Mercedes has a HEPA…filtration system.” He compares the functionality to an operating room in a hospital.
He says, “If you have allergies this is definitely something you want to add on to your Mercedes.”
Mercedes isn’t the only auto manufacturer that offers high quality, HEPA air filtration systems on its models. Additionally, the Tesla Model S, Volco XC90, BMW 7 Series, Honda CR-V, and Hyundai Kona Electric sport this feature.
Sheldon continues to talk about the benefits of this system in his Benz. “It literally takes the outside air…it will take it and put it through these HEPA filters,” he says. To demonstrate this, he points to an animation of red air waves entering the front of his vehicle. Those air waves then transform to blue ones, signifying harmful pollutants have been filtered out.
“Well, it shows right now the outside air is 8, which, it’s pretty good here in Fort Worth. The inside is a 1. OK, that means it’s already better than it was outside,” he says, explaining the value scaling system.
A massive dip in air quality?
Furthering his point, he then asks his viewers if they want to see what happens to the air quality when he vapes in his car. “Do you wanna see what happens? This was accidental. I was on this screen. Kevin took a little puffy puff of a vape. And he blew it down into the floorboard. Watch what happens,” Sheldon says.
Then, the camera orientation flips around to show the infotainment screen again. It’s here that Sheldon says his co-passenger, Kevin, is going to begin the vaping experiment. He subsequently takes a puff of the e-cigarette, emitting a cloud of vapor into the vehicle. Sheldon keeps his camera focused on the screen which monitors both exterior and interior air quality. As he records the latter value, the numbers begin to climb until it reaches a value of 198, which the car deems “very unhealthy.” While these numbers are increasing, Sheldon exclaims, “Oh my God!” loudly.
“Y’all. Very unhealthy you’re blowing that around with your kids in the car,” he says. Next, he begins pointing to the screen again as the number starts to decrease. “Now the HEPA filter’s kicking in and it’s filtering all the air in here. It takes a little while but look, it gets right back down.”
TikTokers aren’t surprised or concerned
In the comments section of his video, a number of folks joke that they want to see how the Benz’s system reacts to flatulence. Like this person who says, “I want to see how it reacts to a fart.”
Additionally someone else writes, “How about when you fart… will it signal unhealthy levels?”
Then there was this same request, with an impetus rooted in the the pursuit of knowledge. They wrote, “OK, but I actually I need to know what happens when you fart. IT’S FOR SCIENCE.”
Moreover, there were folks who wanted to test how the car would react to other types of air pollutants. Such as ripping bongs or burning fat jays. “Test with bong hits plz,” one person wrote. “I need to see what happens when you garden in it!!!” someone else penned. “OK, so my Mercedes will tell me just how hot boxed it is? Interesting…” one TikToker writes. And someone else agreed: “I want this car just to see how high I can get it.”
Did Sheldon misunderstand the HEPA system?
Several TikTokers responding to his video, like this one, claimed Sheldon’s understanding of the system wasn’t fully formed. Many said that the car’s sensors are gauging particulate matter. Which means that the device isn’t testing whether or not something is necessarily harmful, just that it’s different from oxygen.
“It is water vapour and this system obviously doesn’t know whether the particulate is actually dangerous or not it’s just a gimmick that shows the air is contaminated with something,” the user stated.
Someone else wrote, “Well ofc but this isn’t showing toxin levels it shows oxygen levels. So when it senses something that’s not oxygen then it’s gonna freak out because you shouldn’t be inhaling it 24/7.”
Another TikToker broke it down further, explaining what the PM acronym on Sheldon’s car screen stood for. “PM is particulate matter… vapor is a ton of particulates, so it’s going to rate high. It has no baring on what the particulate is,” they wrote.
Further reinforcing this point, someone else writes: “could literally put a vapor humidifier in there and it would read high education system failed us.”
Vaping isn’t good for you
A number of TikTokers referenced popcorn lung and claimed that they’ve known for a long time vaping is unhealthy. Backing up these claims are respected health institutions such as John Hopkins Medicine. In this piece on vaping, the University listed several factors vapists should consider before sucking on an e-cig.
First of all, JH writes that while vaping isn’t as harmful as smoking traditional cigarettes, it’s still pretty darn bad. The piece goes on to reference “lung injuries and deaths associated with vaping.” Secondly, Delivering nicotine into your system on a constant basis isn’t good for you. That’s because “nicotine is a toxic substance. It raises your blood pressure and spikes your adrenaline, which increases your heart rate and the likelihood of having a heart attack.”
Additionally, John Hopkins writes that e-cigs “are just as addictive as traditional ones.” Not to mention that they’re not the best way to curb a smoking addiction, if that’s why you’re hitting them.
@thisdadtiktoks 🤯😭 SHARE THIS! We dont know the long term effects. OMG! #mercedesbenz #eqe350 #eqe350plus #ev #electriccar #mercedes #quitvaping #vapingisbad #themoreyouknow #sharethis #stopvaping ♬ original sound – Sheldon | TikTok Dad
Update 9:35am CT, Aug. 12: Sheldon told the Daily Dot, when reached for comment, that this experience “opened my eyes to being mindful about what we are inhaling.”
“Because at the end of the day, majority of these particles we are releasing into the air are chemicals…. Body sprays, hair spray, dry shampoo, perfume, etc,” Sheldon said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Mercedes via email for further comment.
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