Students can’t escape the lure of the vape

Students can’t escape the lure of the vape

Students can’t escape the lure of the vapeVaping has evolved into a sport, a subculture, and a daily staple everyone is trying to figure out. And I’m not talking about the kids, they’re the users—I’m talking about the adults.

While subbing elementary school this week, I asked students random “questions” in the context of my Student Success Project. Not surprising, almost all of the kids knew of vaping and how it “works.”

Vaping by U.S. teens has reached monstrous proportions, threatening to hook a new generation of students on nicotine and other yet to be determined side-effects.

Straight from US Surgeon General Jerome Adams
“I am officially declaring e-cigarette use among youth an epidemic in the United States. Now is the time to take action. We need to protect our young people from all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. We have never seen use of any substance by America’s young people rise this rapidly. This is an unprecedented challenge. Parents must be proactive and talk to their kids about vaping,”

Vaping 101
Vaping works by heating a liquid containing nicotine until it vaporizes. Experts say the huge increase in teen use is the result of a single company, JUUL which they say grabbed up market share with an assortment of flavors, high nicotine content and devices that look like USB drives. And the marketing push is only going to get greater as Juul Labs just received a $12.8 billion investment from Marlboro maker Altria Group.

The new numbers are staggering
Since last year, vaping increased nearly 80 percent among high schoolers and 50 percent among middle schoolers and it’s even hitting elementary schools thanks to siblings.

The JUUL device, with its sleek design that resembles a flash drive, is off the charts with kids. It’s definitely more discreet, as JUULs are so simple to use. The JUUL has multiple flavors available such as – mint, tobacco, mango, crème Brule and fruit.

But researchers are skeptical that the vapor is harmless as you’re still breathing hot chemicals into your body.

Schools do not know how to stop it…
Schools say the problem sneaked up on them last fall. Since resembling a jump drive they have become so ubiquitous with students and have even turned JUUL into a verb. Students skip class to vape in the bathroom, at lunch, and even sneak hits in class while the teacher’s back is turned. While in class students can pin them on to their shirt collar or bra strap and lean over and take a hit every now and then, and who’s to know?

…and Students can’t stop
“Believe it,” said high school student “David” who started vaping in middle school. “It’s a habit for me, you know — all the time when I set down my schoolwork to do homework, take a rip of the JUUL When I get in my car, take a rip of the JUUL”

“At first it was a lot of, you know, chasing flavors, or doing smoke tricks and posting it on social media. That was really what impressed me. I thought, you know, this is cool, this looks like something fun.”

He says students at his high school vaped in class without teachers knowing. He estimates a quarter of his classmates were habitual e-cigarette users. David started vaping regularly and later began smoking traditional cigarettes.

“It’s impossible to let go once you started using,” says David. “I’ll tell you — after even an hour and a half or two, I am chomping at the bit to find my JUUL.”

“So my biggest concern,” he says, “is, you know, right now I’m puffing, puffing, happy, worry-free, and then in 20 years I’ll have to explain to my kids why I’ve developed popcorn lung — or some new form of lung cancer Because I didn’t know what the risks were of e-cigarettes. It terrifies me.”

This column is by Ritchie Lucas, Creator of The Student Success Project and Think Factory Consulting. He can be reached at 305-788-4105 or email at ritchie@studentsuccessproject.com – and on facebook @ The Student Success Project and YouTube @ The Student Success Project.


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