A tribute to Substance Abuse Prevention Month 

            “Just say ‘No’” was a saying that I heard every Oct. in elementary school, emphasized by guidance counselors and teachers who centered a significant amount of time on National Substance Abuse Prevention Month. Growing up, I looked forward to walking through the hallways decorated with the artwork of the students entering the anti-drug T-shirt contest, receiving free rubber bracelets with sayings like “Say Nope to Dope” and watching different cartoons about drug education that took up class time. I remember that the faculty was fixated on teaching students about the dangers of alcohol, marijuana and especially cigarettes; however, did this anti-cigarette educational regimen provoke the current vaping epidemic amongst teenagers?  

            I first witnessed vaping my sophomore year of high school as my peers started to purchase e-cigs and JUULs with the mentality that vaping was healthier than smoking a cigarette.  

Vaping became popular in the late 2000s as a safer alternative for smoking cigarettes. According to The Economist, “smoking kills 450,000 Americans every year, and a staggering 7m people worldwide.” This demonstrates the need for an alternative to cigarettes; however, vaping has become a trend among teenagers due to their sleek designs, fun flavors and small size, which makes them easier to carry and hide.  

Not only has vaping created a horde of nicotine-addicted youth but it also has caused serious lung damage to an increasing number of individuals. A report by the CDC says that the number of cases of vaping-related injuries in the U.S. has increased to 530, half of the victims of which are under 25. So far, there have been six deaths related to vaping. Researchers hypothesize that these deaths have resulted from people purchasing badly made items such as vape juice, batteries and carts sold on the street as a cheaper alternative, and the presence of vitamin E in the lungs that accumulates after lipid-based substances such as oil are inhaled into the lung cavities.  

            Will JUULs, e-cigs and DAB pens cause the tragic downfall of this generation? The long-term effects of vaping are unknown, yet with the increasing number of deaths and hospital visits, the dangers related to using these devices are becoming more apparent. Unfortunately, our generation is serving as a social experiment that will inadvertently solve many unanswered questions related to the dangers of vaping. It is possible that the effects of vaping will be minimal, but the terrifying reality of this assumption is that many of us will not know the truth until it is too late.