People our age are no strangers to stress, especially after the past couple of years. Coping with this stress is difficult, and many people tend to resort to unorthodox methods. One of these methods is vaping/e-cigarettes, which are similar to cigarettes in some ways, but still starkly different in others.

Unfortunately, vaping is common among kids our age. This is mainly because E-cigarette companies make teenagers their common demographic. This is done in many ways. For example, vapes use flashy colors in advertisements and add fruity flavors that are supposed to make the experience more pleasant. 

Vape companies also advertise themselves as healthier than smoking. While this is true to an extent, the only difference between tobacco and vapes is the composition. According to the Australian Department of Health, tobacco’s side effects usually consist of tar buildups in the throat and lungs, tooth decay, and lung cancer. E-cigarettes/vapes contain stuff like aldehydes, carcinogens, and heavy metals like lead. One of the major side effects of vaping is EVALI, also known as e-cigarette/vape-associated lung injury, which causes a multitude of symptoms, the worst of them being death, as described by the American Lung Association.

On the other hand, both tobacco and e-cigarettes contain nicotine, a chemical that causes addiction. According to the National Health Service of the UK (NHS), the nicotine in both cigarettes and vapes creates this addictive feeling (a high of sorts) that leads a person to use more of these products in order to recapture this high. The addiction causes people to overconsume these products, which only quickens the onset of symptoms.

So, if all of these negative aspects of vaping are so well-known, why do people still do it? The answer is somewhat complicated. People start vaping for a variety of reasons. 

Going back to the beginning, stress is one of the primary reasons why people vape. The sensation that vaping gives to people relieves some of this stress and provides a pleasant feeling. While it may seem that this could be fine in moderation, the negative aspects outweigh the positives. Nicotine in vapes causes an addiction in which people will try to chase that feeling over and over again, even though this is in vain. This is already bad enough, let alone the chemicals in these vapes. 

Another reason is peer pressure. Some people might see other people vaping, think it’s cool, then go on to do it themselves. Later, they’ll tell their friends to do it, and the cycle repeats over and over again. 

So, how is this problem solved? Well, it’s practically impossible to wipe out vaping in a school, let alone among our generation. We can limit the influence of vaping, but we can’t outright stop it. 

What most people need to know is that people are drawn to vaping through various methods, and addiction is also a complicated issue that needs to be addressed with caution. We shouldn’t penalize or punish people for vaping. Most of the time, it’s the only option to escape reality for some. What we can do to limit vaping’s influence is to actually provide resources for students to quit, instead of just suspending them. Why punish someone for something they cannot control? It’s illogical.

It’s understandable why people vape. We should not encourage students to vape, but we can’t deny them the resources to help them quit. It hurts to watch people our age vape, and it’s easy to blame the vaper themself. We shouldn’t do that, however. We need to support and help them. Suspending students for vaping doesn’t stop the overall issue, it just reinforces their need to vape by giving them extra stress.

If anyone reading this vapes, it is important to know that your friends care about you, and don’t want to see you hurt yourself by doing this. It is also important to know there are people who support you. It is possible to quit, and there are other ways to deal with your stress. 

One last thing: seek help from someone you trust; a doctor, a family member, or even a friend’s family member. From my point of view, the school/the district are the last people you should talk to. I believe that resources provided by the school aren’t trustworthy, but that is a story for another time.

Don’t let vaping take over your life, it’s not worth it, especially at a young age. And please don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.