Vaping is peaking as young adults and teens utilize it as a stress reliever. Today’s generation is getting their fair share of nicotine when some haven’t used it in their life.
From bad to worse
Mike Goral, a Cabrini freshman, said, “I think it’s gotten worse, the switch between smoking cigarettes and vaping. You’re seeing more negativity toward smoking and more promotion toward vaping.”
In terms of where the current generation stands as far as vaping, “There are a lot more teens that are smoking. It’s gotten higher in recent years,” Goral said. Vaping has taken off in recent years as teens have gotten their hands on vapes.
In the new federal omnibus spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 15, 2022, the FDA expands its authority from regulating plant-based nicotine in vaping products to including synthetic nicotine.
“I think it’s worse. It gives an excuse to sell nicotine to kids, and that’s a negative, not a positive,” Goral said.
When inhaling nicotine, consider the long-term effects. Goral said, “Vaping or any drug is addicting; nicotine is a very addicting drug that could have a very horrible effect in life later on.”
Nicotine and other substances
Carrie Grabowicz, Cabrini biology instructor, said, “It’s not necessarily really the nicotine. Nicotine causes addiction and causes people to want to keep using it. But what’s most harmful is the other substances that nicotine is combined with. Making them fruity flavors and tasting good just draws in the younger kids.”
Fewer people in today’s generation have tried smoking cigarettes due to the smell and taste.
Grabowicz said, while vaping might not seem like an addiction problem in the short term, after a while, health implications are inevitable.
To prevent the current generation from becoming addicted to vaping, a mandate was put in place by former President Donald Trump on Dec. 19, 2019, which raised the age to purchase nicotine products to 21 years old.
Biggest risks with vaping
Providing information to people about vaping and the long-term effects, and getting help quickly for those that need it is vital.
Grabowicz said, “You have the long-term consequences. You get lung inflammation and airway inflammation. It increases the risk of heart diseases and disorders, and blood clots. There’s a whole host of bad stuff.”
“Our respiratory tract is lined with epithelial tissue, and those cells in that tissue contain the cilia, which get paralyzed whenever you’re bringing something into your body that shouldn’t be there. They’re not going to be able to remove debris and other stuff that shouldn’t be going down into our lungs. Our cilia get paralyzed, and they don’t function, and you can get infections and more frequent infections,” Grabowicz said.
The long-term consequences of vaping leave their mark on chronic users. To keep nicotine out of the hands of young users, more laws and mandates may be necessary.
