E-cigs, e-hookah, vape pens, vapes, tank systems, and MODs all fall under the same category, and they all pose a dangerous threat to our children.
Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling an aerosol or vapor made from liquid or dry materials that are heated. They can contain flavoring, nicotine or marijuana concentrates. Typically, the device contains a battery, a cartridge containing the e-liquid or dry marijuana and a heating component that can cause a pleasurable high.
Even though most states require you to be 18 years or older to purchase e-cigarettes, our children have easy access to these highly addictive devices, and many of them are tempted to use them. In the 2016 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 39% of students using e-cigarettes used because of a friend or family member, 31% used because of the availability of flavors, and 17.1% used because they believed that it was less harmful than cigarettes.
The hard truth is that none of these reasons are good ones. Talk to your children about peer pressure, educate them on the dangers of nicotine, and remind them that vaping is not safer than a normal cigarette. In fact, some may contain as much nicotine as 20 cigarettes and other harmful chemicals that can cause irreversible damage to the body.
No matter what their reason for using may be, the act is life-threatening and something we must work to stop.
Remember that e-cigarettes come in all shapes and sizes, and they may be difficult to recognize. Check in with your children and make sure their USB drives aren’t vapes in disguise.