Vaping and Peer Pressure
December 10, 2018
Vaping has become a worldwide trend that is opening the gates to teen drug experimentation. Pediatricians say that e-cigarettes are causing high levels of addiction to nicotine in the new generation, and we still do not know the long-term effects vaping will cause to our health. Researchers at Harvard are just beginning to determine if Vaping causes popcorn lung. The vaping trend has invaded high schools and middle schools so thoroughly, that students have begun skipping class to smoke in the bathrooms; many students eventually get caught for it. According to CNN, the rapid spread of the fad was flagged in a 2016 report from the US surgeon general. It cited a 900% increase in e-cigarette use by high school students from 2011 to 2015, and the 2016 National Youth Tobacco Survey noted that 1.7 million high school students said they had used e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days. For middle school students, the number was 500,000.
Every few years there seems to be a new type of smoking trend. It has gone from hookah pens to e-cigs to vapes and much more. After this trend started becoming a bigger issue, many noticed that the companies marketing e-cigarettes and vaping products are aiming ads at teenagers. According to Truth Initiative, youth and young adults are widely exposed to e-cigarette marketing and have a high awareness of e-cigarettes, which are the most popular tobacco products among youth. By 2016, nearly 4 out of 5 middle and high school students, or more than 20 million youth, saw at least one e-cigarette advertisement.
Tobacco companies have a variety of flavors that seem appealing to teens, which could be another reason as to why so many teens and adolescents try vaping. Gummy Bear, Candy Apple, and Cotton Candy are only a few of the wide varieties of brightly marketed flavors. Truth Initiative mentions how E-cigarette companies capitalize on the gap in regulation by offering kid-friendly flavors. Youth e-cigarette users cite flavors as the main reason they begin using e-cigarettes. A study that included middle and high school students found that 43 percent of young people who ever used e-cigarettes tried them because of appealing flavors. The appealing flavors aren’t even the end of it. Many teens have people they look up to, many people like celebrities. Celebrities who upload photos of themselves with a Juul making it look cool. Teens try their best to be like their role models, maybe even smoke to take a nice picture. #doitforthegram
Teens feel social pressure in various ways, from wearing the latest clothing trends and styles to current music choices. Friends can be the strongest influence when it comes to risky behavior, such as vaping. High school is the place where most teens want to make new friends and fit it with those around them. They will do anything to get involved in a friend group by portraying a specific or appealing image. They will do a variety of things to be liked and vaping seems to be one of the biggest sources of peer pressure for teens today.
Taft is no exception, there has been an increase in vaping on our campus as well. With teens getting caught in bathrooms and stairwells. When we spoke to Mr. Godsey, Taft’s Dean, he said: “Its been getting easier and easier for kids to get [vapes] and you know people are more than ever, gearing it towards kids, unfortunately, so I think people think its a good alternative to smoke”. It should be known, that if you are caught vaping on campus there will be repercussions. “It could be as little as detentions, it could be as much as suspensions. It just depends on whether [students] have a history or not. [The school] tries its best to not suspend kids because we don’t want them to miss school but at the same time it’s not okay to be doing that in the bathrooms. It makes everybody else uncomfortable and kids should not be worried about going into a bathroom and being able to use the bathroom with something like that happening. It’s not fair to them.”
shiley panhassi • Apr 8, 2019 at 2:44 pm
There are many studies that show that vaping at a young age, or even vaping at all, makes the likelihood of addiction and smoking cigarettes as well as other drugs higher. I think that peer pressure is an issue because it causes children to try it out and eventually become addicted. Addictions are hard to overcome and some people do not have the resources or support to overcome it.
Juliana A. • Mar 4, 2019 at 3:07 pm
This article opened my knowledge about vaping and how much it affects the teenage society. The article showed how vaping has become more like a “trend” that more teens in high school skip class and vape in the bathroom. This event is actually really common especially since I’m in high school. It shows how these flavor of the vapes can stray and easily fool a teenager and lead a student to believe that vaping is good and better than smoking. Thank you for bringing awareness in this article about the danger of peer pressure and vaping.
Max Mendoza • Mar 4, 2019 at 2:45 pm
It seems like companies are trying to take advantage of teens so that their products get sold. Sometimes kids don’t think about their future health or well being, and its certainly not helping if their peers are making it look cool or trendy. Its great for people to spread awareness of this thing, as this may become a bigger problem for future generations. It kind of makes me sick thinking of people convincing minorities to this sort of thing, it is as bad as drugs or smoking.
Moriya Shvartz • Mar 4, 2019 at 12:00 pm
This article is great at showing the true colors of vaping. Its not a joke and can seriously damage your health. ore serious measures should be taken to prevent vaping in schools.
ivan • Mar 4, 2019 at 11:26 am
vaping has gotten so popular over the years. So many people are vaping now and its becoming a big problem.
Marilyn Silva • Mar 4, 2019 at 11:23 am
This article is a way to show kids that being apart of a “trend” can affect you internally. It shows evidence on how these companies are affecting the future, by creating flavors that are addicting and make you want more. I like the way that she asked someone opinion on the whole situation. Kids happen to do this for “fun” or to fit in. Overall this isn’t something to do as a lifetime, it can really mess up your brain.
ashley • Mar 4, 2019 at 11:19 am
Vaping has become a necessity for kids to look and be “social”. Teenagers are intrigued by the flavors and the overall fact that they are doing something they know they should not be doing, which makes it all that much more “fun”. We all know the harms it causes, but yet we do not care what it does to our bodies.
Joseph Troesken • Mar 4, 2019 at 11:16 am
In my opinion it is terrible just how many kids started smoking. For me i saw lots of vapes in the bathroom at middle and high school. I just hope this trend that could be blindly causing cancer and popcorn lung stops soon.
Edgard • Mar 4, 2019 at 11:03 am
i think that this article is a great piece of information. And it letting us know how vaping can damage your growth and body.
Kevin • Mar 4, 2019 at 9:39 am
Vaping has become a sort of teen epidemic in recent years. Kids are drawn to the flavors of the vapes and forget the repercussions that come with smoking them and their effects on the developing teenage body. As a high school student, I witness kids vaping on a consistent basis who include my friends. I believe vaping has taken over teenage social interaction and the government should install more measures to inhibit this outbreak.
jessica dominguez • Mar 4, 2019 at 9:31 am
This article is a way to show kids that being apart of a “trend” can affect you internally. It shows evidence on how these companies are affecting the future, by creating flavors that are addicting and make you want more. I like the way that she asked someone opinion on the whole situation.
Sevan • Mar 4, 2019 at 8:32 am
This article is a great way to spread awareness of a serious problem. It also is very informing and backs their claims up with overwhelming statistics. It teaches you the unknown effects of vaping and the consequences it can bring. I like the way she included what attracts such young people to vape which is lead by the flavors and major social media influencers. I also like that she got a quote from the school´s dean.
Anthony S Pina • Feb 20, 2019 at 10:42 am
What up B!!