Teen Vaping

Teen+Vaping

Jada Sardin

 

Vaping is prevalent in Whitney Young and other young communities. But, where did it come from, why are teens vaping so much, and are they safe?

 

Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the vapor produced by the heated nicotine liquid (often called “juice”) of an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette or e-cig), vape pen, or personal vaporizer (Source). I can’t write about vaping without mentioning Juul. This company essentially made vaping the widespread trend that it is. Juuls come in a USB-like shape and come in multiple flavored nicotine pods.

Jonathan Perez ‘19 says, “I hope to never see a vape pen in my life.”

 

The amount of nicotine in one Juul pod is equivalent to a whole pack of cigarettes (Source). Nicotine is an addictive chemical, and in large doses can lead to a block in autonomic and skeletal muscle cells.

Only thirteen percent of teen vapers are aware that this chemical is in their vape pens.

An anonymous senior said, “I thought it was just some juice or water vapor or something, but now I’m too addicted to stop.”

 

Sixteen percent of teens will vape by the time they’re seniors. Thirty percent of teen vapers will end up smoking after six months of vaping (Source).

Carla Gonzalez ‘19 says, “I’ve seen some kids vape in this school as young as sophomores.”

Image attribution: Lindsay Fox https://ecigarettereviewed.com/