Originally Published in the November 26th Print Publication
Whether you notice it or not, every hit changes you. E-Cigarettes were made to shift people over from a traditional cigarettes to an electric bar containing nicotine, but now this has become a problem for people around the world including many teenagers.
According to CDC’s article about E-Cigarette Use Among Youth, around 1.63 million students in the world vape, and vaping is becoming more normalized among underage citizens. Students are starting to think vaping is cool and that because their friends or other people are using them they think it’s okay for them to start to. But what they don’t see is the changes that vaping makes.
“Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. Nicotine can harm the parts of an adolescent’s brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control,” according to the CDC in their overview about underage use of E-cigarettes and vapes.
Nicotine is a very addictive chemical and the more a person takes the more harm it does, especially to teens with not fully developed brains. The nicotine coming from the vape can cause mood disorders, nausea, tremors, and permanent impulse control issues and challenges.
Nicotine is a stimulant drug that can make the user feel good for a few moments which can contribute to vape addictions caused. And of course, all people take vaping addictions differently, there are people that are able to control themselves and won’t get as serious effects, however there are still people who won’t have that same amount of self control.
“It’s often started by peer pressure but also a part of it is curiosity. I started because I was curious,” one student said.
“One day I was just in the bathroom and it kind of happened. From then on I just wanted to try it again so I found a few ways and I’ve just kept it going since then,” another student, also a minor, said.
Both students spoke under the condition of anonymity because of their ages and a fear of potential consequences.
“I was addicted. I remember skipping classes in middle school just to hit it with friends and stuff, and I would get that feeling that I just couldn’t really like feel much without it,” a third student, who has been sober for almost a year, added. Whether you notice it or not, vaping does affect you, and most not in many good ways.
If you just want an escape, talk to someone or spend time on your own to figure things out. A person can give you advice, a vape can’t. It’s just addiction in a little plastic case.
