In this age a lot of generation z and younger have become addicted to tobacco due to “trends” or even peer pressure. The question we face however is “how do we stop or prevent it?” There are many things you can do to prevent these issues but first we must address the statistics. According to the CDC’s statistics, which was reviewed only five months ago in November 2, 2023, In 2023, about 1 out of every 22 middle school students (4.6%) reported that they had used electronic cigarettes in the past 30 days and in 2023, 1 of every 10 high school students (10.0%) reported that they had used electronic cigarettes in the past 30 days. The most popular use of tobacco now is E-Cigarettes because of the flavor appeal and marketing to children.
What are the risks of vaping, you may ask? From the Child Mind Institute, they state that these E-cigarettes have high levels of nicotine to the point that one JUULpod, a popular nicotine product, is about the equivalent to one pack of cigarettes. Dr. Taskiran had worked with adolescents who were addicted and they stated that decreased the attention span of the student makes working in school harder. He also noted that vaping has shown signs of increased heart rate and blood pressure. There are many factors that can lead to tobacco use from teens and youth. There are Social/Physical environments, Biological factors, Mental Health, and many other influences. With all of these factors the rates of teen smoking has been constant and on an uprise since the 90’s. Since there are social environments including social media there’s a lot of influences including movies, music, and peer pressure.
Since the 90’s smoking has seemed cool to teens and it still is like that. Many movies depict teens smoking and sometimes it’s some of the most popular movies streaming. Music can be written about smoking and how that makes you feel but peer pressure is one of the biggest contributors. According to Reach Out a lot of teens who are pressured by their peers are usually seeking validation and looking for a sense of belonging within their friend group, hence why they follow along. Not all cases follow a structure of negative peer pressure but in the case of teens and tobacco it usually is negative. Other things that go along with the factors are the biological factors that CDC’s statistics had explained. They stated that there has been evidence that youth are sometimes sensitive to nicotine and may become more addicted sooner than some adults and that genetic factors can make it harder to quit for some.
In that same source there factors including mental health, such as stress, depression, anxiety, and more that can make it harder to avoid for teens. According to the source, Mindful Health Solutions, nicotine has been proven to give short term feelings of pleasure and relaxation, but long tern can lead to changes in mood, behavior, and can even lead to depression. In another article from CDC they state that nicotine withdrawal symptoms can affect someone’s mental health with irritability, restlessness, anxiety, trouble sleeping, or having problems concentrating.
So what can you exactly do to prevent addiction and teens vaping? The best way to help is to have conversations about the dangers of vaping and ways to quit for teens. There are other risks including the fact that scientists are still learning about the long term health effects of vaping and some of the ingredients in a vape can include aerosol which can harm your lungs. Discuss with your peers and support them if they are dealing with addiction while also encouraging them to seek help from professionals. Dealing with addiction especially when it has become a coping mechanism is hard but rest assured there are resources available and you are not alone.
Resources available to everyone:
N-O-T: Not on Tobacco is a voluntary quit smoking program for teens who are ages 14-19. It is a 10 week program where participants can learn to identify their reasons for starting to smoke and to find healthy alternatives while working in a team and using social cognitive theory.
https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/helping-teens-quit/not-on-tobacco
The American Lung Association has organized experts to give assistance or advance: Take advantage of this free by calling 1-800-LUNGUSA or contacting us online.
Truth initiative: Teens and youth can join for free to get resources to quit smoking. They will receive one age appropriate message per day that will be tailored to their enrollment date or quit date.
https://truthinitiative.org/thisisquitting
Smoke Free Teen: Make a quit plan instead of heading straight into it and failing. Making a quit plan can make it easier to stay on track and get through hard times while quitting