Less puffing and more passing - what parents need to know about teens and e-cigarettes
Article written by Andy Flavin, THINK Educator
We’ve all heard the term “puff, puff, pass”, but with research and information that continues to come out on the harmful results of vaping and e-cigarettes, there needs to be less puffing, and more passing.
JUUL has taken over the smoking world by storm. Its sleek design, cheap price, and fun flavors made it the most popular e-cigarette company in the United States. With this popularity, comes a draw for teenagers. However, without fully developed brains and bodies, these adolescents are facing many physical issues because of their smoking habits.
According to an article from Johns Hopkins Medicine, research suggests vaping is harmful to the heart and lungs. Whether one is smoking an e-cigarette or a traditional one, nicotine is the primary agent. Toxic and highly addictive, this substance raises blood pressure, spikes adrenaline, increases heart rate, and is associated with lung injuries and death.
Although nicotine is present in e-cigarettes the majority of the time, there is also a brand called PAX that vaporizes dabs-- a concentrated THC (marijuana) most often in the form of oil, wax, or thin sheets called “shatter.” The device looks very similar to a JUUL and is harmful just the same.
Because smoking marijuana through a pen like this is now possible, we then have to consider all the harm that marijuana has on the body. According to research from Partnership to End Addiction, teens that use marijuana have “difficulty with critical thinking skills like attention, problem solving and memory; impaired reaction time and coordination, especially as it relates to driving; decline in school performance; increased risk of mental health issues including depression or anxiety and, in some cases, psychosis where there is a family history of it.” This isn’t the harmless, feel-good drug your child may talk about.
As you can see, vaping has some serious side effects. Whether the primary substance is nicotine or marijuana, vaping and e-cigarettes can cause long-lasting and life-changing damage to the body. The CDC found that 50.1% of high school students in the US and 62.4% of high school students in West Virginia have used electronic vapor products (JUULs, vapes, e-cigarettes, mods, etc.) We need to be informing our teens of the dangers of this habit and shutting down the common misconception that these devices are harmless.
As of September 2020, a single JUUL device can be purchased on their website for $9.99. Beyond the option of buying online, a simple search on their website shows that there are 12 locations within a 2-mile range of my home address that carry JUUL products.
This fact alone shows just how accessible this drug can be- and the percentages above show just how normal it is! Your kids go to the gas station. Your kids have friends over 21. Your kids have connections at school. Be informed, and make sure they’re informed.