Recently, vaping has been an issue affecting teens all across the country. The CDC reports, cases of vaping related illnesses have occurred in 46 states. These vaping epidemic is on the rise, and no slow down seems to be in sight.
USA today reported “Teen nicotine vaping rates this year are double that of 2017, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported last week, and a study out last month found this more than triples the likelihood they will use marijuana. NIDA said 12% of high school seniors reported vaping nicotine daily and 20% of 10th graders used e-cigarettes in the last month, up from 16% last year.” For teens, vaping devices will be all around you, but remember these three key reasons for why you should never partake.
Lung Illness
Hundreds of teens have been hospitalized due to vaping related lung illnesses. The Chicago Tribune covered a story in which an 18-year old was hospitalized with a lung illness. The tribune stated “his lungs from a chest X-ray look like those of a man in his 70s. His lungs may never be the same again, and vaping is likely to blame”.
This could happen to anyone who decides to pick up a vaping device. Similar cases have been reported in 24 other states, and they are not slowing down. Adolescence should be one of the healthiest time periods of your life. It would be tragic to deteriorate your body at a young age for no good reason.
Bad Devices
With the rising popularity of vaping, many counterfeited devices have entered the market. Vaping black markets have even formed, and there is no easy way to tell what is real or not. Even with government regulations, bad vaping devices are still finding their way into the market.
Time reported that “it can be hard for consumers to tell whether a product they’re buying is made by a legitimate company. The phony packaging is convincing to the untrained eye, some even carrying bogus labels that appear to carry state-required test results”. Moreover, these devices have been loaded with large amounts of mercury, and other metals. It’s best not to think about buying a device at all. There is little to no way for buyers to know what they are getting, and there is far too much risk involved to think about it at all.
Death
The Center for Disease Control reported vaping related deaths have been reported in Illinois, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Oregon. There is absolutely no reason to jeopardize your life in exchange for vaping. Vaping may seem like a fun, cool way to fit in, but it can ultimately be a death trap. The continuous reports of vaping related deaths should serve as an alarm for all teens to wake up and put the devices down.
Vaping poses a big problem for teens. Adolescent’s are not yet fully cognitively developed, and nicotine can have a severe effect on that. Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin of the Yale Tobacco Center for Regulatory science says “Studies have shown us that nicotine can interfere with memory and attention processing.” This is an alarming fact as teens should be absorbing as much knowledge as possible as they continue to develop, and nicotine can hinder that. In short, vaping is never worth it and shouldn’t ever be considered. Teens should live a healthy lifestyle that allows them to prosper in the future, and vaping can end that in a blink.