teenager blowing vape smoke in front of his face

By: Ethan Lin

Vapes, also known as “E-Cigs,” have been growing in popularity during the past few years, catching the attention of many teens. There are various types of vapes that are manufactured to attract the younger generations. Whether students are trying to vape or not, everyone will be introduced to vapes one way or another throughout their youth. Education on why teens get hooked to vaping and the problems associated with this is very essential to protect your child.

Some misconceptions with vaping in teens today include:

Vaping Doesn’t Produce Secondhand Smoke

Vapes produce secondhand vapor which can contain many harmful substances such as nicotine, formaldehyde, lead, propylene, glycerol, and diacetyl. These substances can also cause long term effects that still are being studied for their effects.

Nicotine-Free Vapes Are Safe

While a vape can say that it is nicotine-free, it still contains many harmful chemicals that can cause irritation and harm to someone’s internal organs. Along with this, vape flavoring also contains many harmful chemicals that can affect someone’s body.

Vaping Isn’t Addictive

Many teens try to convince themselves that they will only vape for a little and then stop. However, it is not as simple as they think. Most vapes include the chemical nicotine which is highly addictive and can cause great harm to anyone’s body. Once someone gets hooked it is very hard to stop.

High school students make many excuses to convince themselves that it is ok to vape. They say they will not get addicted or that they would stop soon. In reality, it never really ends that way. Students are unknown about how addictive vapes can be and when doubting chemical nicotine in vapes they get sucked in and are stuck being addicted. They will then start to feen vaping and try to get a hit whenever they can. In my school students sneak away during class to use the restroom or find a spot where no security is around to do what they want. It is a real problem students do not realize until it is too late.

If you are a teen or young adult who wants to quit, text DITCHVAPE to 88709.

Photo by Ruslan Alekso