Vomiting, severe headaches, lung diseases, and now, even death — these symptoms all come from the popular electronic cigarettes such as Juuls and Novas. 

Now more than ever, teenagers need to realize how severe the after effects of the use of such products are and pledge to quit this lethal addiction.

Throughout recent years, the use of e-cigarettes and vape products have become immensely popular among young teenagers throughout the entire nation. This widespread, growing demand has gotten so dire that the FDA now considers vaping a nationwide epidemic.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, an FDA commissioner, says that “teen vaping is a concern because the developing adolescent brain is particularly vulnerable to addiction.” Approximately 3.6 million teenagers under the age of 18 are now addicted to nicotine. 

The rise of vaping among teenagers has become extremely alarming, but what is more alarming is seeing their responses toward the matter. 

I have heard many teenagers talk about how them vaping is “much better” than them smoking cigarettes. This can be seen as true for adults who are using vape products as a way to try to quit smoking, because they are doing it with the purpose of getting rid of their nicotine addiction.

However, most adolescents are not constantly vaping every second they can in order to get rid of a past smoking addiction. Instead, they began vaping with no prior attachment to nicotine, and did it without thinking of the aftermath that comes with these dangerous products. 

Anti-smoking advocacy group Truth Initiative gathered evidence saying that “about two-thirds of U.S. teenagers do not realize that Juul contains nicotine.” 

Their obliviousness, and Juuls being sold with “innocent” flavors such as mint, mango, and cucumber, have resulted in vaping teens believing that they will not suffer similar effects as cigarette smokers. 

They are wrong.

An entire pack of cigarettes is equivalent to a single Juul pod in terms of nicotine levels. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists talks about how diabetes, neurobehavioral defects, hypertension, obesity, respiratory failure, and infertility are all possible side effects of consuming nicotine. The journal Thorax discovered that lung cells introduced to vape liquids “were more likely to have their immune system cells damaged,” leading these nicotine-addicted teens to feasibly become more prone to catching illnesses easier than those who do not vape. 

These are not just possible outcomes that can affect these teens many years from now. There have already been cases of as many as nearly 500 people being hospitalized “for lung diseases related to vaping, with many complaining of shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, fatigue, vomiting and fevers.” 

These 500 hospitalized people are only the beginning. The longer teens continue to consistently use vape products, the more hospitalizations will occur. The longer they continue to convince  themselves that vaping is better than smoking cigarettes, the more they will worsen their addiction.

The longer they continue to ignore the truth of the dangers of nicotine addiction, the more they will destroy their bodies and their futures.

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