“Vaping” involves inhaling and exhaling vapor produced by an e-cigarette, vape pen or other vaping device. Vaping exposes people to large doses of highly-addictive nicotine and other potentially dangerous substances.
The most popular vaping device today is the Juul, a tiny device that looks a lot like a USB flash drive.
Who is vaping?
- As of 2018, the number of middle and high school students who vape had soared to about 3.6 million.
- The 2017 Monitoring the Future study found that more than one in four high school seniors reported vaping in the previous year, while 16.6 percent said they had vaped in the previous month. More than 6 percent of eighth graders also reported vaping in the previous month. Teens are much more likely to vape than smoke traditional cigarettes.
- Vape companies claim that their target market is adult smokers trying to switch from combustible cigarettes. Yet current flavors and marketing approaches attract middle and high school customers, whose developing brains are
particularly vulnerable to nicotine exposure. They’re clearly the consumers of top-selling flavors like “Unicorn Milk,” “TNT” and “I Love Donuts.”
What’s the harm of vaping?
Many teens don’t realize that vaping exposes them to large doses of highly-addictive nicotine and other potentially dangerous substances. Research shows that about 80 percent of youth do not see great risk of harm from regular use of e-cigarettes.
- A deadly trend became evident in 2019 when more than 33 frequent vapersdied after their lungs developed a chemical-burn type of scarring. Thousandsmore – including teens – have developed severe lung disease.
- Vaping delivers a hefty hit of nicotine. One Juul pod, or cartridge, contains anamount of nicotine roughly equivalent to a pack of cigarettes. Vaporizednicotine is absorbed by the body within seconds. Its potent addictive propertiescan be very visible in teens who develop a need to get a regular dose of nicotine,no matter how or where.
- Nicotine may disrupt the formation of brain circuits that control attention andlearning.
- Research suggests that teens who vape are more likely to become tobacco smokers.
- The chemical diacetyl is used in many vape flavors. It causes “Popcorn lung” (bronchiolitis obliterans) or “Juul lung,” a condition that damages the lungs’ smallest airways and causes coughing and shortness of breath.
- E-cigarettes contain at least ten chemicals (including lead, cadmium and formaldehyde) which cause cancer or birth defects.
- Research shows that some chemicals in e-cigarettes interfere with the heart’s ability to pump blood.
Vaping THC to get high
Vaping devices are also used with THC from marijuana, which releases mood and mind-altering THC. A 2016 national study of teens found that 6% of those who had ever vaped reported vaping marijuana.
- High concentrations of THC can cause psychosis and increase the odds of marijuana addiction.
- Vaping THC is odorless, so it can be done without detection…right at home or in the school classroom.
Signs that your teen might be vaping
Vaping is easy to conceal and hard to detect. Here are some clues that may prompt you to talk with your teen about the dangers of vaping:
- When vaping removes hydration from skin of the mouth and throat, the body will crave liquids to combat that dehydration. Increases in fluid consumption and peeing could be indicators of vaping.
- Shortness of breath during typical activities such as walking up stairs may be a sign.
- Vaping dries out the mouth and the skin of the nose, which can lead to nosebleeds.
- Vaping plus caffeine can cause anxiety and severe mood swings. Most users will decrease their caffeine intake to avoid these side effects, so fewer trips to the coffee shop might signal a problem.
- Unfamiliar pens, USB-like drives, or other techy devices in your teen’s backpack or in the trash could be red flags.
- Recurrent pneumonia could signal a deadly problem. The chemicals in e-cig vapor can cause inflammation in the lungs, leading to bacterial infection and even death.