Pioneer Vaping High School

A Complicated Dance of Deceit

Michaela Chavez|October 24, 2019

Vaping has always been a big issue to address, mainly due to the fact that students tend to have exposure to heavy metals may cause flu-like symptoms, lung damage, and even cancer in some cases. Tune out all the speakers brought to our school to warn us of the harms vaping may cause. Teens don’t even bother to read all the posters hung up with facts on vaping risks. Teens- even though we don’t like to admit it can be very naïve, believing that if they vape they couldn’t possibly get hurt. This topic of vaping is known as an underground epidemic at PV, some students buy them in the form of a Pen, Juul, USBs, Box Mods, and even Suorin drops. These marketeers who issue these aerosols advertise them in a sense that it’s cool and safe. They give out a various range of designs and colors that appear friendly. These distributors have candy flavors that they unveil as mild. When in fact doctors have found that even the flavors like strawberry or cotton candy contains 0.2% or 2.5mg of nicotine. Experts say that vaping is supposed to be a healthy alternative for ADULTS ONLY because they have finished with their mental growth and therefore they are less likely to be harmed in any serious way, but for teens it’s a whole different story. Teens aren’t done developing which means that our brains are still wired and going through the process of major growth, and vaping puts our brings our growth to a halt. The idea of ” it takes someone close to us being harmed or worse-dying, for us to finally act” is the stage that we are approaching. I want to raise awareness on what these small machines can do to your life.

“The problem has grown throughout the years, due to the fact that kids are being more exposed and it’s also become more obtainable for them. Some teens that attend here smoke pretty much everywhere on campus, but the main place that I catch them are in the halls. My advice to the kids who are doing it or pushing the limits and experimenting-is to stop. Many deaths and illnesses have been reported and confirmed to be caused by vaping.” – Security JR
  • Flavors aren’t just flavors they only mask the taste of tobacco – making it easier for people to smoke it.
  • Four out of five people move onto tobacco from flavors due to the tobacco still in flavors.
  • Nicotine cause rewiring in your brain resulting in anxiety, learning difficulties, irritability, mood swings, and being impulsive
  • About 3 million—or 20 percent—of high school students are vaping, according to the findings. In contrast, last year 1.73 million—or 11.7 percent—used e-cigarettes, according to recently published federal data.
  • Vaping illnesses across the country are thought to be-out of suspicion, having to do with black-market marijuana vaping products.
  • A 17 year old boy from the Bronx, was the youngest patient to pass away this year-in his vape were the findings of marijuana that contained THC, THC is a psychoactive ingredient.
“Advertisement for vaping has became more friendly with all the flavors they have and the designs with superhero’s, multiple colors, character, and designs that could seem appealing and harmless. Teens here choose to do it everywhere-the quad, halls, classrooms, bathrooms. These kids have no boundaries you have the cholos who do it, the kids who do good in school-have good grades, kids in sports. It really does effect these kids as well, you can see it in their grades they begin to plummet. My advice for people who vape is it’s very unsafe, harmful, and effects you in life, school, physically, and mentally-I strongly disagree with the fact that people think it’s a healthy alternative, you need to stop.” – Officer Martinez
  • Nicotine dependence can lead the disruption in the brain development and chemistry
  • Increases the shortness in breath, causing coughing, and fevers
  • It may also cause an acid reflex
  • Higher likelihood of contracting lipoid pneumonia, which occurs when fatty substances are inhaled into the lungs.
  • Glycol and Glycerol are toxic chemicals that are contained in vaporizing marijuana that have been liked to cancer, respiratory disease, and heart disease.
  • A report in BMJ last year, using data from several federal agencies, found there were roughly 2,035 e-cigarette explosion and burn injuries in the United States from 2015 to 2017.
CEO of Juul Labs, Kevin Burns, stepped down from his position at the e-cigarette company on September 25, 2019. He made this decision due to the widespread of vaping-illnesses and deaths, along with multiple investigations into the company by federal agencies. The Juul’s company had said that they would stop all printing, broadcast, and advertising of any e-cigarettes in the U.S. for the time being. – Digital Trends
  • The Wall Street Journal on Monday reported that federal authorities announced a criminal investigation on Juul
  • As of September 27, 2019 the total number of cases is 805, a 52% increase from last week’s 530 reported cases. It is unclear when symptoms began in the new cases, as the CDC has not made that information available
  • Juul is uniquely designed to deliver heavier amounts of nicotine into the bloodstream
  • Juul is wildly popular with teens because they are tech friendly and easy to hide
  • Metals like aluminum, lead, iron, zine, etc. are linked to heart, liver, lung, and brain damage
In his CBSN interview, President Trump said, ” Vaping has become a very big business, but we can’t allow people to get sick and we can’t have our youth be effected.” Trump has gone to ban all flavored e-cigarettes until FDA applications are complete.
  • California, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Washington, Michigan, Illinois, and Delaware are the states that have enacted vaping bans so far
  •  Vaping causes cancerous tumor development
  • Nicotine addiction is notoriously difficult to reverse, and addiction to e-cigarettes can lead to using other nicotine products, including smoked cigarettes, as well as alcohol and other drugs
  • Side effects include: dry mouth, dizziness, cough, dry skin, and itchiness

  • These small and compact devices deliver a low vapor production – allowing vapors to receive a substantial nicotine hit without producing huge clouds or having to take a long pull.

See the source image

  • There is no tar in vaping liquids. Many of the e-liquids used in vaping devices contain nicotine. Nicotine can lead to circulation problems as well as heart disease.

  • Exposure to heavy metals may cause flu-like symptoms, lung damage, and even cancer in some cases.
“Vaping is dangerous, it’s a risk and there isn’t exactly a “cure” or a list of many of the dangers, so I’m thankful for this article. The chances of getting and illness or possibly dying are very high, I do not recommend vaping at all. It is not an alternative or cool” – Paloma Pedraza(11)
“Vaping in my opinion is a risk for not only your mind, but your body. It effects your physical health and is a danger to others, the heavy smoke can effect others around you and influence younger people. I just am strongly against vaping itself people who promote it, it does no one any good” -Esther Reyes(11)