No Nicotine Never.

By Key Kessens
FWIS Contributing Writer

Vaping is the new cigarette for teens. The nicotine inside of these vapes is detrimental to not only physical health but mental health as well. These effects are more harmful than helpful. Bringing awareness to these mental health effects can help teens stop vaping, teach adults more about these smoking devices, or encourage teens not even to start vaping in the first place.

What are Vapes?

These e-cigarette devices are battery-operated devices that emit aerosol & other chemicals. Almost every single vape (99%) of them contains nicotine in them, as well as other harmful chemicals to heat the contraption. These include but are not limited to lead, tin, heavy metal, & nickel. They also contain different flavorings, which is one of the main attraction of vapes. These flavors range from lush ice, blueberry, icy fruits, & banana freeze, to tropical punch.

There are many different brands of vapesEach brand has its design for the vapes. Some look like cigarettes, while others resemble USB drives.

Vaping companies target teenagers with their flavors & creative designs. Most vaping brands are owned by the tobacco industry. Cigarettes are more designed for older adults, so to keep the money coming in, they began to target teenagers with these vapes because all the components are expensive. Vapes can range from $15-$25, depending on the brand.

The ads & marketing methods make these e-cigarettes seem like harmless puffs, but these clouds cause more problems than most teens know. Not only do they negatively affect physical health, but vapes also have an impact on mental health. Knowing the influence vaping has on mental health should encourage people to put down the vapes & not encourage their peers to start. The same ways these companies market them, to reduce mental disorder symptoms, are the same reasons that these disorders can worsen.

Choose your Mental Health

Mostly high schoolers & college students are the teens that vape, but some middle schoolers occasionally do it as well. The CDC reports that 19.6% of high schoolers & 4.7% use these vapes. These percentages may seem low, but they do not include university or college students, & this only includes numbers from one study. This is considered a real public health epidemic by the Surgeon General, in addition to loneliness, ebola, & other issues. Vaping is a threat to our youth.

There is very limited research on the effects of mental health with vaping, most likely because the physical health effects are easier to measure. Most people are concerned with the physical instead of the mental, but we need to bring more awareness to this issue because the physical effects have not stopped teenagers from vaping.

The most common problem would be nicotine addiction. Teenagers can easily become addicted to the nicotine that is present in 99% of all vapes because the brain does not fully develop until 25. The addiction can affect impulse/decision-making abilities, moods, increased suicidal thoughts, & mental health issues. There are also withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting vaping. These symptoms include feeling angry &/or upset, sleep troubles, focus issues, shaking, restlessness, being stuck on high alert, the craving to vape, stress, & increased mental health disorders/symptoms.

The mental health disorders most commonly linked to vaping are depression, anxiety, & mood disorders (examples of mood disorders are persistent depression disorder, bipolar disorder, hypomania, major depressive disorder, & disruptive mood dysregulation disorder). Most people vape because of these same mental health issues & stress, but with vaping, they worsen.

The amount of stress people experience when they are not vaping is most likely the reason teens develop anxiety. Without their vape teens do not think they can function, so stress levels increase in response. Since people become addicted to vapes, teens may experience depression or mood disorders. Teens may think low of themselves because of their addiction or notice the difference vaping has on their moods. Suicidal thoughts may become present because of this fight with depression, anxiety, &/or mood disorders. The presence of one mental health disorder usually indicates the invitation of others, so this battle becomes a cycle. The reason teens picked up the vape was to alleviate their symptoms, but in reality, vapes are worsening the fight with mental health issues.

Since the brain is not fully developed until 25, vaping can also negatively affect different components of the brain. As previously mentioned, emotions can become harder to manage or control with vaping, especially when quitting. Vaping can also negatively impact parts of the brain related to memory, deteriorating or altering perceptions of teens’ memory. The memory issue could be linked to the large amount of harmful chemicals each vape contains. Critical thinking can also be negatively influenced. The stress & big emotions that occur could be the indicator of critical thinking issues. Teens are not in the right mindset because of all these factors, so vapers become dependent on it because they believe it is helping them, not noticing the negative cycle they are indulging themselves in. Quitting becomes even more difficult, putting these teens at risk for more stress & mental health issues.

Quitting Resources

There are many resources available to aid teens in quitting vaping. A mental health care provider, (for example, a therapist or a psychiatrist) can assist in the mental health disorder aspects of vaping. There are also many hotlines that teens can take advantage of. As well as programs to help teens stop.

Here are some hotlines & programs that teens can use to get assistance right now:

Suicide prevention hotline: 988

The Truth: text DITCHVAPE to (88709)

Quit Partner: call (1-800-784-8669) or text (1-855-891-9989)

Chantix® GetQuit Support plan: (1-877-242-6849)

Financial aid for Chantix® or Nicotrol® inhaler: (1-866-706-2400)

American Lung Association: (651-227-8014)