Man sent alarming message from Mercedes-Benz after someone vaped inside his car

A man claims a concerning message he received from his new Mercedes-Benz is ‘proof that vaping is bad for you’ - but not everybody agrees with his reasoning.

Sheldon (@thisdadtiktoks) is the proud owner of a new Mercedes-Benz, which comes kitted out with something called a HEPA filter.

HEPA stands for high efficiency particulate air, and the filter is especially great for people with allergies as it removes dust and pollen from the air inside the car.

But Sheldon thinks he accidentally made a disturbing discovery due to the handy feature on his new set of wheels.

He explains in a TikTok video that his friend ‘took a little puffy puff of a vape and he blew it down into the floorboard - watch what happens’.

He then demonstrates that after just a small puff of vape smoke, the air quality goes from normal, to unhealthy, to very unhealthy.

Sheldon says in alarm: “Watch this. Look what’s happening. You’re blowing that around with your kids in the car. Are you s**ting me?

“Now the HEPA filters kicking in and it gets right back down.”

Well, there you go - definitive proof vaping is bad for you, right?

Except it might not be all that cut and dry.

You see, presumably the HEPA filter is designed to filter out any particulates in the air, not just ones that are harmful to your health.

Amid many, many comments asking Sheldon what happens to the air quality reading if you fart, one TikToker wrote: “I don't vape, but like.. it senses anything that's "NotJustAir,™" and it's meant to do this for the entirety of the car. Like avg pollutant level. You are blowing NotAir™ directly into the sensor.”

Another said: “PM = particulate matter. You could spray air freshener, or put a humidifier in there, and it would give you a high reading because it would increase the amount of particulates in the air.”

The jury is actually still out on if passive smoke from vaping is harmful in the same way as cigarette smoke, but according to Cancer Research UK, it’s ‘unlikely’ to cause major health issues.

The charity writes on its website: “There is no good evidence that second-hand vapour from e-cigarettes is harmful. As vaping is still relatively new, we can’t be sure there aren’t any long-term effects to people who breathe in someone else’s vapour. But this is unlikely to be harmful.

“Passive vaping is not the same as passive smoking. This is because e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco.”

LADbible has contacted Mercedes-Benz for a comment.