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Sergio DeCello

Dunham

CCP English 1201

21 March 2021

What are the effects of vaping with teens?

Vaping and e-cigarettes have had a dramatic incline in usage over the last couple of years.

The reason e-cigarettes and vapes have become more popular is because this was meant to be a

“healthier” alternative to smoking cigarettes. Since this alternative is supposed to be healthier

than why have there been so many health effects from it? What makes this alternative healthier?

The target audience for vapes and e-cigarettes was originally smokers, however just like

how cigarettes got started, teens are now using them like they are candy. In fact vapes and

e-cigarettes have a variety of different flavors ranging from cotton candy and blue raspberry to

chocolate and mint. The first e-cig was made in 1965 as a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.

In 2003 an electronic atomizer version was patented and said to be a healthier alternative to

regular cigarettes. Now these e-cigarettes are being used more and more by young teens at

alarming rates.

So what is an e-cigarette? “E-cigarettes are battery-powered smoking devices. They have

cartridges filled with a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings, and chemicals. The liquid

is heated into a vapor, which the person inhales” (Gordon). We don't know how vaping affects

the body over time because it hasn't been around long enough. Health researchers are finding

significant lung damage in vapes, including some deaths. Gordon also states, “Vaping puts

nicotine into the body. Nicotine is highly addictive and can: slow brain development in teens and

affect memory, concentration, learning, self-control, attention, and mood, and increase the risk of
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other types of addiction later in life.” Using e-cigarettes could also lead to smoking cigarettes

and using other forms of tobacco. It can also cause serious lung damage.

Even if one doesn’t vape itself, they could still experience health effects by being around

others who do vape. One source states,

“Secondhand e-cigarette aerosol exposure to nicotine, particles, and potentially toxic

chemicals have been found in emissions studies. The effects of potentially harmful doses

of heated and aerosolized ingredients of e-cigarette liquids including solvents, flavorings,

and toxicants are not fully understood. Dual use of vaping nicotine and smoking

cigarettes presents added health concerns” (Douglass).

It is just like secondhand smoking. With e-cigarettes when the particles get into the body

they have the same effects as if the body was vaping itself.

There have been questions about who the target audience for who the product is truly for.

So the FDA had multiple requests to Juul for documents to see if they are intentionally marketing

underage adolescents. However, “representatives from Juul Labs declined repeated requests for

an interview. In a written statement, the company said its product offers a ‘true alternative to

adult smokers, not anyone else, not minors’” (Daley). Daley later states, “Other companies that

make e-liquids also say their products are not for minors. The companies do offer a wide range

of sweet flavors, however, like cotton candy, caramel, cherry, cookies and milk and crème

brûlée.” If something tastes good then kids are more likely to get their hands on it. Yet another

source claims, “research that suggests youth vaping leads to traditional smoking” (Daley).

E-cigarettes are very harmful but traditional cigarettes can be even more deadly.

Since this is such a new topic, there are still things that are unknown. One source states,

“Scientists are still learning more about how e-cigarettes affect health. However, there is already
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enough evidence to justify efforts to prevent e-cigarette use by young people. Because most

tobacco use starts during adolescence, actions to protect our nation's young people from a

lifetime of nicotine addiction are critical” (Know The Risk: E-Cigarettes & Young People). Even

though it is a new topic there are still red lights that say this product is dangerous, especially for

young adolescents.

Throughout my research thus far I have discovered that e-cigarettes are said to be a

healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes, however they are not a healthier alternative. In fact

they are just as harmful as traditional cigarettes. E-cigarettes can put harmful chemicals into the

body causing a variety of health affects. Through the research I have done I have found useful

information but I do need to tackle a few more ideas. These ideas include; long term effects and a

specific health concern, popcorn lungs. I would like to explore all the health issues e-cigarettes

cause into further depth and more detail. The substance that makes e-cigarettes so dangerous is

the nicotine that is in them to make users keep on using it. I would like to explore more on

nicotine and it’s addictiveness as well as any health concerns within it.
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Works Cited

Daley, John. “He Started Vaping As A Teen And Now Says Habit Is 'Impossible To Let Go'.”

National Public Radio, 7 June 2018,

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/07/615724991/he-started-vaping-as-a-

teen-and-now-says-juul-is-impossible-to-let-go. Accessed 5 March 2021.

Douglass, Brendal. “Teen Vaping: Time to Clear the Air.” Contemporary Pediatrics,

www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/teen-vaping-time-clear-air. Accessed 3 March 2

2021.

Gordon, Lonna P. “Vaping: What you need to know.” Kids Health, Sept. 2019,

https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/e-cigarettes.html#:~:text=But%20health%20experts%20ar

e%20reporting,%2Dcontrol%2C%20attention%2C%20and%20mood. Accessed 2 March

2021.

Know The Risk: E-Cigarettes & Young People. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

2021, https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/default.htm. Accessed 26 Feb. 2021.

Levin, Dan. “Vaping on Campus: No Parents, No Principals, a Big Problem.” The New York

Times, 23 Dec. 2019, pp. 15. Accessed 28 Feb. 2021.

MD Anderson Cancer Center. “Dangers of e-cigarettes, vaping and JUULs: How to talk to kids.”

YouTube, 13 Nov, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JCAyb3lDTo. Accessed 6

March 2021.