In recent years, the use of e-cigarettes among teenagers has become a significant public health concern. With the rise of anxiety and depression in young people, vaping has become a popular go-to for relief from it all. With so many students engaging, we want to know is vaping safe?
It’s the fact that e-cigarette use among high school students is among 20% that the FDA and CDC have declared us in a public health crisis. That means 1 in 5 high school students use e-cigarettes, many reporting the use everyday which leads to high levels of addiction. It’s this concern that led us to Caroline Goncalves Jones with Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.
Jones shares some staggering statistics:
- 3.6 million kids overall use e-cigarettes
- 1 million of those students are frequent users
- The level of addiction is growing with over 730,000 middle and high school students vaping every single day
These stats show that students are no longer experimenting, they’re vaping frequently, making it just as unhealthy and unsafe as smoking cigarettes.
Is Vaping Safer than Smoking
Fantastic Flavors and More – Manipulation of Manufactures
E-cigarette manufacturers and marketers are manipulating young people by making e-cigarettes attractive through flavors, advertising, stealth device design, etc. They’re easy to hide and easier to use. Manufacturers are getting students hooked through the flavors, but nicotine is getting them addicted. You can get hooked quickly, then it’s really hard to quit. The flavors make e-cigarettes seem less severe than combustible tobacco products (like traditional cigarettes and cigars). Clearly manufacturers are using this tactic to target youth because adults don’t care about unicorn poop, cotton candy or coco donut flavored nicotine products.
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Is Vaping Harmful to your Lungs, Throat and Brain?
There has been a lot of lies and mis-information about the harm of vaping. Most people don’t think vaping is as harmful because they believe it’s less toxic than smoking a traditional cigarette, so let’s lay down the facts:
- A single Juul pod has the same amount of nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.
- Teens with mental illness vape more frequently than those who do not suffer from or struggle with a mental illness because many people believe that vaping helps them cope with stress and anxiety. They feel better in the moment, but actually, vaping increases the feelings of anxiety as well as depression.
- Young people are more likely to experience dependence at lower levels of exposure when compared to adults. So, youth can feel dependent after minimal amounts of nicotine within a relatively short period of time.
- Proper brain development during the teen years is critical and nicotine harms the parts of the brain responsible for attention, moods, impulse control and learning.
- As popularly noted, nicotine can prime the brain for addition to other drugs, meaning it’s a gateway drug.
- E-cigarette users inhale additional toxic chemicals such as lead, nickel and other metals that shouldn’t be in our body.
- Smoking increases the risk of respiratory infection, weakens the immune system and can harm lung health.
Let’s Talk Addiction: Side Effects of e cigarettes
Most students don’t even realize they’re addicted until they’re trying to combat certain emotions and crave a hit. The cool rubs off and they’ve become addicted. Vape has got control of their life.
When you go without nicotine, your brain panics – which is called withdrawal. The side effects of withdrawal can be uncomfortable and can trigger cravings for nicotine. These common nicotine withdrawal symptoms are a sign that you’re addicted:
- Feeling irritable, restless or jittery
- Having headaches
- Increased sweating
- Feeling sad or down
- Feeling anxious
- Feeling tired or groggy
- Having trouble thinking clearly or concentrating
- Having trouble sleeping
- Feeling hungry
- Having intense cravings for e-cigarettes
Experiencing these symptoms isn’t a sign that you need to vape, it’s a sign that you need to quit. If you’re ready to quit vaping, we’re here to help or check out these additional resources:
- teen.smokefree.gov/quit-vaping
- https://www.thetruth.com
- “This is quitting” is a free anonymous text based program that can provide insight into the quitting process. Text: Ditch Vape to 88709 for TIQ texting support.
- tobaccofreekids.org
- My Life, My Quit is developed and operated by National Jewish Health, the nation’s leading respiratory hospital and academic research center.
Additional resources geared for adults, but are still helpful:
