This article is one of the winning submissions from the first annual New York Post Scholars Contest, presented by Command Education.
Vaping—the vaporized inhalation of nicotine and sometimes other drugs—has quickly become the new fad over the last ten years, especially among teenagers. Kids as young as 11 have started to pick up the vape. There has been a disheartening increase in vaping. According to the National Youth Tobacco Survey, 78% of teenagers were e-cigarette users. How has vaping become so pervasive, and become such a problem for high schools? Vaping has spread quickly among teenagers because it is seen as cool and at the same time as a quick fix to deal with depression or anxiety. However, paradoxically, vaping often leads to increased anxiety in the longer run. Vaping can also harm a developing teen brain. Adolescence is a substantial time for a growing brain. And the human brain doesn’t even stop developing until age 25. The nicotine in vapes can disrupt the brain circuits that control attention and learning.
Vaping has been heavily advertised to teenagers. Vaping was first marketed as a seemingly benign invention, aimed at adults trying to quit tobacco addictions. However, vaping companies quickly moved on to marketing vapes to adolescents, using alluring flavors, such as Guava Passion, Blue Razz Lemonade, Strawberry Kiwi and many more. According to the CDC, 69% of kids in middle school have been exposed to vaping, partly driven by the extreme internet marketing efforts of electronic cigarette companies.
Many teenagers are originally attracted to vaping to relieve depression or anxiety. However, a vaping habit can lead to increased depression over the medium to longer term, because of its impact on mood and brain function. Attempts at quitting often lead users to get discouraged because the addictive nature of vaping makes quitting very challenging. Sleep problems are another effect of frequent vaping—and, of course, a poor night’s sleep can severely impact a student’s school day.
Depression and anxiety have been at an all-time high for teenagers. The prevalence of vaping is strongly contributing to the problem. And although scientists are continuing to research the long-term effects, the CDC has concluded that quitting vaping leads to reduced stress and anxiety levels and increased moods and quality of life.
In addition to vaping affecting mental health, it can also affect teenagers’ physical well-being. The aerosol in vapes can result in detrimental lung health. Aerosol can contain harmful substances and flavorings, such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to lung disease. Vaping can also lead to shortness of breath, high blood pressure, swollen lymph nodes and more.
An excellent example of the seriousness of the vaping phenomenon is shown when teens cannot sit through a standard high school class because they have to excuse themselves to imbibe nicotine through a vape. This is not only distracting for the other students and teachers, it is very harmful to the students themselves. Just think about it: Missing fifteen minutes of a forty-five-minute class period can severely affect learning. So, not only is vaping a mental and physical health concern, but the education of a generation of children is being detrimentally affected.
Teens are using vaping as a way to cope instead of fixing the real issues. Vaping nicotine stimulates dopamine to create feelings of relaxation or pleasure. But instead, teenagers should channel dopamine deposits by doing healthy activities such as: eating more protein, eating less saturated fat, and exercising more often? All things that help increase dopamine levels but will be positive rather than negative to health.
What can high schools do to address the vaping issue? Firstly, vaping should not be normalized in high schools. Just because most high school students are vaping should not mean vaping should be taken as an accepted and tolerated phenomenon. Instead, vaping should be considered a cry for help. We are told every day that school cares about our safety and learning. But how are we supposed to feel supported when most of us are victims of the vape?
High school administrations should be taking the threat of vaping more seriously by teaching the very harmful effects and helping teens build a healthier mindset. The curriculum should also emphasize how mental health can get better without drugs. It can be very beneficial to look into alternatives to increase mood in a non-harmful way.
The approach of reciting statistics against vaping to high school students is not likely to be effective. Numbers on paper are not usually an effective way of getting teenagers to quit. Students need real, personable experiences and conversations with real people. I believe that hearing real stories of people that have been through addiction and beat it can be truly inspiring and helpful for the younger generation. Teens need a shock factor and a real person sharing their story, not a dry recitation of numbers. High schools must look at the bigger picture because unhappy students lead to an unhealthy school environment.
An 11th-grader at the Lab School for Collaborative Studies in Manhattan, Weiner wants to be a defense lawyer, a politician and a journalist.