Generation Z has successfully become the age group to have the smallest number of cigarette smokers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “8 of every 100 high school students (8.0%) reported in 2016 that they smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days—a decrease from 15.8% in 2011.” This should be very good news as it shows that campaigns, such as those at thetruth, to eradicate adolescent smoking have been working, however, this news must be taken with a grain of salt. Not all smoking has been on the trend of eradication. A new type of threat has entered the scene, perfumed with a candied aroma and veiled behind a thick white cloud: e-cigarettes.

Also known as vaping or “juuling”, over 2.1 million pre-teens and teenagers partake in this activity according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey. It involves inhaling a type of “e-juice” which is essentially just a carcinogenic concoction of propylene glycol, glycerin, water, nicotine, and of course, flavorings. The number of adolescent vapers only continues to climb as middle school and high school students continue to get hooked for a myriad of reasons.

The rise in vaping cannot only be attributed to the youth. The teenage years can be very tumultuous, a perfect opportunity for e-cigarette companies to become predators in the fragile ecosystem that is a teenage life. An ecosystem that is filled with tenuous relationships, insecurity, and inexperience. Companies like JUUL, which is perhaps one of the most popular brands, swoop in with a sleek device that is easily concealed and can be passed off as a flash drive. To teenagers, this device is like a status symbol, a key to fitting in, and a temporary escape paired with the thrill of rebellion. This “escape” ironically only leads to one place: confined within the walls of addiction.

Moreover, companies like JUUL provide their customers with the convenient option to buy online. Upon opening the site, a box pops up asking for age verification which is frankly worthless. What teenager can’t easily bypass the pop-up and then use their parent’s credit card information to purchase whatever they want? Additionally, e-cigarette distributors have a wide variety of flavors for the consumer to choose from. Many of these flavors are similar to those found in candies or desserts such as blue raspberry or cotton candy. These flavor names continue to attract underage consumers by acting as an innocent disguise for the adverse effects of vaping. Despite their claims to be taking action to prevent teenagers from using their devices, at the end of the day they are multi-million dollar corporations who will stop at nothing to increase their sales.

Although e-cigarette companies are the primary perpetrators, vape culture wouldn’t be as widespread without social media. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube host a plethora of vape-related public accounts and widely used hashtags that can easily pop up on any impressionable teenager’s screen. All of these accounts do nothing but garner celebrity endorsements and glorify vaping by showcasing tricks such as “ghosting” or blowing os.

These factors among others have ultimately fueled the growth of e-cigarette use among middle school and high school students but there are measures that can be taken to counteract any further growth as well as get students off of their addictions. Educators need to more effectively communicate the consequences of vaping and crack down with administrative action so that students can no longer feel like they can get away with vaping. Parents can also help by monitoring their kids or at least checking in on them more. Most students pick up this habit because they feel overwhelming amounts of social stress. By creating an atmosphere where a student feels like they can rely on their parents to listen to their pressures at school cannot only alleviate some of the student’s stress but also make them less likely to hide things like this. Finally, the most significant change can happen when the affected age group takes charge of this problem. Students can start programs at their schools where they discuss the reality of vaping that many of their peers are ignoring. There’s so much that can be done to ensure that this generation isn’t characterized by nicotine addiction, heart problems, lung disease, and its “clouded” judgment so to speak.

On a personal note, I have first-hand witnessed the number of people who vape around me grow, but I am not here to shame them or anyone who does vape. What I am here to do is best aligned with the goal of thetruth.com. Like them, I am not trying to criticize anyone’s choices but rather “arm everyone...with the tools to make change”.

Sources:

“About Truth.” Truth, www.thetruth.com/about-truth.

Raloff, Janet. “Teen Vaping Soars Past Cigarette Use.” Science News for Students, 25 Apr. 2017.

“Smoking & Tobacco Use.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and    Prevention, 25 June 2018.