Student 1

Student

English 3

20 March 2019

Teens : Inhaling Their Lives Away

Teen vaping seemed to begin as a trend in 2015 that all the “cool kids” partook in. This

“trend” has turned into an epidemic that continues to grow rapidly everyday, all around the

world. The effects that vaping holds over adolescents is a bigger problem than millennials can

see. In fact the increasing rate of teen vaping shows that it could become worse over the next

couple years. Many teens begin the act due to pressures of society, as an attempt to fit in, but

don't understand the serious consequences that come with it. ​Some people may think vaping is

good for adults who want to quit smoking cigarettes, but vaping is actually a bad epidemic for

teens.

Nicotine is bad for teens because their bodies are being exposed to chemicals. Vaping can

cause teen anxiety levels to rise: "Levy said she's seen vape-addicted kids in her program

showing what appear to be psychiatric symptoms rarely seen with traditional cigarettes or among

adults. Some have anxiety and cannot focus, for example" (CNN 2019). Kids are becoming so

addicted to vapes that it affects their brain so much that they can't do anything without thinking

about their next hit. So many kids are doing it and don’t realize what they are putting in their

body. Teens should become more educated about what they are putting inside their bodies. Also,

the vapor contains toxins: "Lead study author Dr. Mark L. Rubinstein and his team have found

that teenagers who "vape" may be exposing themselves to dangerous chemicals that have been
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linked to cancer" (medicalnewstoday.com 2019). The chemicals in vapes can lead to cancer.

Most teens don’t realize that vaping can potentially lead to cancer. If teens knew that chemicals

in the vapes lead to cancer, it may change their perspective on whether or not to vape.

Some people say that E-Cigarettes have made tobacco usage go down. According to a

study conducted on quitting smoking with the help of vaping, "An analysis found that in the

most likely of several simulations, nearly 3.3 million life-years could be saved by the year 2070"

(futuruity.org 2019). While this may be true for people quitting smoking, the use of vapes is

going up in numbers with teen usage where they have never smoked before. Vapes are not only

being distributed to tobacco smokers but to people who were not smokers before which increases

health risks for people who did not smoke before vaping. People may think that it is better than

cigarettes but: "The researchers developed sensitivity analysis scenarios to assess whether more

conservative assumptions might alter the study's main finding, but they found no change. Though

the results of the study show likely net benefits from e-cigarettes, "those benefits represent a

small fraction of the enormous harm caused by combustible tobacco," (futurity.org 2019) While

vapes could be lowering the harmful tobacco usage it also is creating more usage of other

harmful chemicals. We do not have enough history with these new chemicals to even study the

future harm they can do to us.

Teen vaping has become an epidemic in the United States. The Surgeon General, the

head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, issued a a health advisory

on e-cigarettes: "On December 18, Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued a rare advisory the

fourth in 10 years from his office. "I am officially declaring e-cigarette use [vaping] among

youth an epidemic in the United States," Dr. Adams said" (Yalemedicine.org 2019). This shows
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that this is a huge health advisory that is not being taken seriously. This is a huge health scare

and is a huge problem. A survey was conducted nationally that showed just how many teens

were involved in this epidemic: "Eleven percent of high school seniors, 8 percent of

10th-graders, and 3.5 percent of eighth-graders reported vaping with nicotine in a one month

period, according to a national survey released from the University of Michigan late last year"

(yalemedicine.org 2019). The future generations are all trying this and the percentages have

never been higher. This is a huge number of students and it’s only becoming a bigger problem.

Some people claim that vaping is healthy because it has less nicotine than cigarettes.

E-Cigarettes may not have tobacco but they have harmful chemicals: "Vaping gives you full

control over your nicotine dosage. E-juice" (vaping360.com 2019) You may know the nicotine

dose that's going into your body but you dont know all the other ingredients that are in the vapor.

People think that just because they know the nicotine dosage that it says on the bottle doesnt

mean thats the only thing. Vaping may not smell as bad but that doesnt mean its better for your

health. "That means better oral hygiene, skin health, circulation, lung capacity and an improved

sense of smell and taste." (vaping360.com 2019) This may be improved but you are still getting

unknown chemicals in your body that can't be proved to be safe. People think they know what

they're putting in their bodies but they really don't.

Vaping does not reliably help you stop quitting cigarettes. Vapes were originally created

to help people quit smoking cigarettes, but they don’t: “Though smokers may reduce the number

of cigarettes they smoke, many end up using both products at the same time, and never actually

quit altogether" (tobaccofreeca.com 2019) Vapes are just as addicting as cigarettes and aren't

proved to positively put a stop to smoking. E-Cigarette were invented to use as an alternative and
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eventually help people stop smoking cigarettes, but they actually make smoking more interesting

to teens and non smokers. Scientists have not concluded that this is a safe alternative: "There is

no conclusive scientific evidence showing that e-cigarettes are a safe and effective method to

reduce traditional cigarette use at the population level." (tobaccofreeca.com 2019) Scientists are

unable to conclude reliable evidence that e- cigarettes are as safe as some may think they are. We

don't really know what we are putting into our bodys.

Vaping is a huge American epidemic for teens. E-cigarettes are becoming increasingly

popular and being introduced as a healthier way to smoke. People think that because they know

how much nicotine it has in the bottle, that they know what their putting in thier bodys but vapor

has many chemicals in it that scientists have not declared safe.

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Works Cited

Alfred, et al. “9 Pros and Cons of Vaping You Need to Know.” ​Vaping360​,

vaping360.com/vaping-101/pros-cons-benefits-vaping/.

Cohut, Maria. “E-Cigarettes: Teens 'Should Not Be Using Them at All'.” ​Medical News Today,​

MediLexicon International, 7 Mar. 2018,

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321130.php.

“Is Vaping with E-Cigarettes Safe?” ​ProConorg Headlines​,

www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005430.

Nedelman, Michael. “Why Vaping Is so Dangerous for Teens.” ​CNN,​ Cable News Network, 18

Jan. 2019,

www.cnn.com/2019/01/17/health/vaping-ecigarettes-kids-teens-brains-fda/index.html.

“Public Health Benefits of Vaping Outweigh Risks.” ​Futurity,​ 13 Apr. 2018,

www.futurity.org/vaping-public-health-benefits-1730602/.

Raven, Kathleen. “Your Teen Is Underestimating the Health Risks of Vaping.” ​Yale Medicine,​

www.yalemedicine.org/stories/teen-vaping/.

“Vaping: Does It Help People Who Smoke Traditional Cigarettes Quit?” ​Tobacco Free CA,​ 7

Mar. 2019, tobaccofreeca.com/e-cigarettes/vaping-help-people-quit/.