There’s a teen vaping epidemic. Medical professionals warn of unchecked health risks
A student skips class to use a kiwi, passion fruit and guava flavored vape in the restroom. Photo by Amaris Altoro
By Amaris Altoro and Cortez Wesley, North High School
Gen Z, the generation who once saw consuming nicotine, tobacco and cigarettes as an outdated bad habit, now have a habit of their own, a habit that shed its familiar white and orange paper casing and now takes on the form of a rechargeable, metal plated device with a new name.
Vaping and it poses many unchecked health risks.. Vaping nicotine was officially declared an epidemic by former U.S. Surgeon Gen. Jerome Adams in 2018 after it became staggeringly prevalent amongst teens. Four years later vaping continues to be frighteningly popular amongst Generation Z youth.
According to the National Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the CDC in 2022, 2.55 million high school students, and 380,000 middle school students in the US regularly vape nicotine through e-cigarettes. Before vaping technology entered the U.S market in 2007, the inclination to smoke cigarettes was a dying habit amongst the Gen Z population, seen as a distasteful health risk.
Now, Gen Z is predicted to be the first to experience the ramifications of being addicted to this new form of nicotine.
“Understand that these products aren't just water vapor,” said Bethlehem Yewhalawork, Health and policy advocate at North Point Health and Wellness center. “You are inhaling chemicals that can have a really big impact on your lungs in the future.
When conducting interviews with dozens of high school students at North High School who vape, the majority of vaping teens, who decided to remain anonymous, are aware of the health risks that accompany vaping, and continue to vape regardless.
In the same breath, those students said regardless of if they vaped, they would never start smoking cigarettes.
One North High junior said “I think cigarettes are probably more potent than damage than a vape does.”
Therein lies the contradiction, according to health officials – being opposed to cigarettes and being addicted to vaping and nicotine.
Yewhalawork says that idea is not at all true.
“Vapes and e-cigarettes contain the same amount of cancerous causing chemicals as combustible cigarettes,” said Yewhalawork. She places the blame on marketing companies for spreading misleading information to appeal to younger audiences.
“Vaping and E-Cigarette marketing uses the same playbook as tobacco industries in the past,” said Yewhalawork.
A common line is that vapes are easier, and “more satisfying” to use than cigarettes; a more discrete and fashionable method of consuming nicotine. Vapes are affordable, ranging from $15 to $20, they are flavored and marketed as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes, while still offering an addictive buzz of the nicotine.
The junior explained why he feels many young people turn to vaping as an alternative to cigarettes.
“Vaping is definitely less (shameful),” he said. “If you saw a kid my age smoking a cigarette you would call him dirty, but if you see him with a vape, you would think he’s a normal kid.”
Vaping has become intertwined with the vernacular, social life and culture of Gen Z.
“I really wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. It’s just not worth it..”
In March of 2021 the FDA required four vape companies to provide critical information as to their intentions, after they were accused of marketing to teens on social media. The FDA found “Youth engagement with online tobacco marketing including social media, is associated with tobacco use.”
“It just kept getting brought around me, it made sense,” said another 11th grade student who started vaping their freshman year.
Teens publicly ask each other to use vapes, they openly discuss their favorite flavors, they see who can puff the biggest clouds, and they show themselves vaping on social media.
Students assume the consequences of their addiction will eventually impact their health in a similar way to cigarettes, but the long-term consequences of vaping, however, are unclear because the technology is so young. Research and the long-term health impacts could be significantly worse for teenagers.
“Cigarettes, when first entered the market, were advertised as healthy, and we didn't figure out what the health concerns were for a long time until we linked it to cancer,” said Yewhalawork. “In the long run, it [vaping] could have the potential to have the same or worse impact as traditional combustible cigarettes.”
According to the Harvard Gazette, people who vape have lung symptoms that align with those of soldiers in World War 2 from inhaling mustard gas.
“No amount of nicotine is safe, especially in young adults,” said Yewhalawork. It can interfere with the lungs, brain development and future cognitive health. Because their brains are still developing, they can be much more susceptible to addiction than adults, it can also lead to other addictions.
Some students are already feeling those problems. A ninth grade student athlete decided to quit after only just a month of vaping, because he noticed how it was affecting his stamina.
“I play football, and do boxing,” he said. “When I vaped, I immediately noticed how it affected my performance.”
He advised anyone who takes sports seriously to consider their athletic future before they start vaping.
“I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone,” he said. “it's just not worth it.”
A North High freshman gave advice to those who’s nicotine addiction is out of control.
“I would really just educate yourself before you go into anything, but especially when it comes to your health,” they said. “If you don't know what the consequences are, you're not even going to know when your addiction gets to be dangerous.”