A Healthier Future Starts Now: Most Youth Who Vape Want to Quit
By Marketing Specialist Shamika Andrew
Spending time outdoors with family and friends supports strong connections and healthy choices.
Most middle and high school students who vape say they want to quit. This reflects an important awareness and readiness for change. Most tobacco use, including vaping, starts and is established during middle and high school.
Flavored tobacco and nicotine products hide the taste, making nicotine addiction easy and fast. Children and young adults may not realize how addictive nicotine is and that vaping can deliver higher levels of nicotine than traditional cigarettes which can lead to a lifetime of nicotine dependence.
All vaping devices have the potential to contain nicotine and numerous unknown chemicals. When the vape is heated by the battery, small particles of metal are emitted and can be inhaled into the persons lungs. There are no regulations or manufacturing standards for vapes. Often the chemicals used in the e-juice or e-liquid are generally regarded as safe for food additives but have unknown health effects when aerosolized and inhaled.
Are vape products safe? No tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and vapes, are safe, especially for children, teens, and young adults. Risks of use include exposure to toxic chemicals, lung injury, poisoning, and burns. Vaping devices may not meet safety standards, leading to a risk of fire or explosion, and cause severe burns, other injuries, or death.
Nicotine can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25. Youth and young adults are at risk for long-term, long-lasting effects from exposing their brains to nicotine. They can start showing signs of nicotine addiction quickly, sometimes even with occasional use. Using nicotine during adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. Adolescents who use nicotine may be at increased risk for future addiction to other drugs. Youth who vape may also be more likely to smoke cigarettes in the future.
“In my role as a health educator, customer-owners who vape tell me they vape all throughout the day. Often, they really do not know how much nicotine they are getting in a day. Customer-owners also tell me the habit of reaching for the vape as often as 20- or 30-minute intervals is very difficult to change,” SFC Health Educator Stephanie Rockford said.
Health benefits of quitting tobacco may include:
- Better vision
- Brighter teeth
- Improved lung function
- Lower blood pressure
- Increased dopamine production
- Decreased risk of heart disease
- Lower risk of cancer. After 5-10 years of quitting tobacco, you reduce your risk of developing certain cancers.
- Stronger muscles and lower risk for bone fractures
- Faster healing time and improved immune system
Talk to your child or teen about why vaping is harmful to them. Ask them to stay away from all tobacco products, including vape products, because none are safe. It’s never too early or too late to start these conversations.
If your child vapes, encourage and support them to quit. Southcentral Foundation’s Quit Tobacco Program is an effective, evidence-based, tobacco-cessation treatment program that offers coaching, medications, and nicotine replacement therapies. The program is available for both youth and adults. Customer-owners can receive referrals from their primary care provider.
To learn more about resources to quit vaping or connect with support, contact your primary care team, or call Southcentral Foundation’s Quit Tobacco Program in Anchorage at 907-729-2689 or in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough at 907-631-7630.
