The Ongoing Outbreak of Vaping
If it was not already obvious, e-cigarettes have been everywhere. Schools, gas stations, stores, and basically anywhere filled with people. Although for the state of Michigan, flavored e-cigarettes are no longer allowed as of Sept. 4. San Francisco was also the first major city in the United States to ban sales of e-cigarettes as of June. The current national problem is what to do with vaping, prohibit or permit?
Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan believed the ban of e-cigarettes was needed to protect adolescents from the probable, negative effects. Why specifically flavored e-cigarettes? Well, Whitmer protested these sweet flavors were to hook the youth into vaping and its harmful nicotine. Vaping advocates criticized Whitmer while health advocates welcomed the idea. Advocates claimed the effects are not known, but the state Department of Health and Human Services noted that the nicotine can affect the brain and showed how adolescents become more at risk to start smoking regular cigarettes.
E-cigarettes exhibit false advertisement claiming they are safer than regular cigarettes misleading society into thinking the unforseeable effects.
Because of such circumstances, doctors recently discovered the “Popcorn Lung”, meaning the airways of the lungs become inflamed and scarred. It is very rare, but e-cigarette users such as teenagers may need to worry. At Metea, vaping has been a huge issue. High school students are unaware of the dangers of vaping. Enough boys and girls vape for the school’s administration to close down the bathroom doors in order to prevent it. Not only are teens uneducated about the risks, but they believe that they are invincible and unaffected. Yet, there are still teenagers who possess and use vaping products on a daily use.
Prohibiting or permitting vaping is very situational altogether. Whether or not it is a teen, adult, or even an elder vaping, it’s still a toxic problem to society and it needs to be addressed. Personally, I can’t sway others decisions, but I believe that vaping doesn’t necessarily create a positive change for anyone in the long run. It will cause bigger problems to arise and society doesn’t fully recognize it until they’ve experienced the negative effects that come eventually. Despite the decrease of tobacco use, vaping has been unfortunately popular at Metea and it has to be limited.
Katrina is a senior and the Online Editor-in-Chief for the Stampede. In addition, this is her third and final year on the staff *sad face*. You can find...
Mishal Nizar is a senior and is the Print Editor-in-Chief of the Stampede for her third year on staff. She was graphics editor for both her sophomore and...
Tonka Jahri • Sep 23, 2019 at 11:25 am
they falsely advertise that the E-cigarettes are more healthy than regular cigarettes. There have been a reported 8 deaths and 530 reported illnesses. And another bad thing is that this is just starting we do not know all the future problems it will create.
Common Sense • Sep 19, 2019 at 1:01 pm
“E-cigarettes exhibit false advertisement claiming they are safer than regular cigarettes misleading society into thinking the unforseeable effects” – Provide proof
A Concerned Metea Student • Sep 19, 2019 at 7:47 am
Stop trying to create a solution for a problem you cannot solve! The kids partaking in these activities do NOT care about any effects/repercussions. The only thing that would make them feel the need to change is themselves. You, no matter how hard you try, will not get into the mind of a carless, stubborn teen. All you can do is provide them with resources they need for help, and if/when they feel they need it, they will use it. Banning e-cigarettes does NOT stop the problem, but rather takes the right away from people who have used e-cigarettes to quit the death bearing habit of smoking.
to many grammar mistakes • Sep 19, 2019 at 7:09 am
I can tell just by reading this that a Freshman or Sophomore wrote this. I mean really “Whether or not a teen, an adult or even elders vape”. Something about that does not sound right Ill let y’all be the judge. Also people need to get their nicotine buzz and banning anything will solve nothing. When they banned alcohol in the 1920s the consumption of it just went up due to speakeasy’s and just people doing it under the radar. If these 15 year olds can get their hands on a vape and juice, then they will have no trouble getting it again even with these dumb laws.
Anon • Sep 18, 2019 at 9:08 pm
Thank you for speaking out about this.
It has been an issue that’s been ongoing, and very few people acknowledge how dangerous it is. The long-terms effects of vaping are unknown to us because it is an extremely recent phenomenon. Cigarettes have been around since the mid-1800’s and the side-effects are known to us now, but back then, no one knew that cigarettes could increase your chances of lung cancer. So today, we can’t pretend like we know the consequences of our actions. So far, some of the vaping-related hospitalizations have been accompanied by a sudden lack of oxygen. One girl was on life support because her lungs simply gave out.
I don’t want to write an essay here, but it’s so disheartening that our generation can be taken in by false advertising and going off of what their friends are saying. People should seriously be more cautious of things they don’t much about. That’s why I didn’t give into this trend, because I KNEW I didn’t know a single thing about the side-effects. I could’ve gotten a hold of it, but I chose not to. I hope more people can figure out how to make informed choices.
Regulation • Sep 18, 2019 at 7:36 pm
@Narendra Pramodi While banning drugs might not work, regulation over the product (like flavorings) and advertisement (like health claims) could work.
Narendra Pramodi • Sep 18, 2019 at 1:24 pm
Since when has banning drugs ever worked?
yeast fam • Sep 18, 2019 at 11:54 am
the most important establishment in preventing teens from vaping is the school (in our case METEA VALLEY) I’ve seen teachers that go into the bathrooms and see kids hitting vapes and drugs and just go about there business. Also kids are always posting their drugs on snapchat becuase they have no fear of reprocustions, because they know the school wont do anything about it.
Yeast Fam signing out…
Mr. Flow • Sep 18, 2019 at 8:15 am
Glad someone is talking about this
That said, there are a lot of grammar errors in this that make it hard to read, and there was no need to talk about the Governor of Michigan since her decision doesn’t affect us directly