Vaping is The Teenage Trend that Conceals Health Risks

With a generation full of people wanting to try new things and be healthy it’s not a surprise that more and more vape companies are popping up around the world. Vaping is considered a healthier alternative to cigarettes and is a battery-powered device that vaporizes flavored liquid filled with nicotine. In the last couple of years, vaping has become a well-known thing amongst teens. While the FDA tries to turn teens away from vaping these companies keep on manufacturing these electronic cigarettes also known as e-cigs for experimental teens to use. Vaping is relatively new and has taken its turn in the last couple of years causing people to not know the long term health effects of the devices. With thousands of different vape brands out there you never really know what you will be inhaling into your body. Because vaping is branded as a healthier alternative teens disregard the effects and view it as harmless while on the other hand adults see it as being just as bad a cigarettes.

These big name vape brands draw teens in when they say that it is a healthier alternative to cigarettes. When you buy a vape you have to buy e-liquid with it to put into your device. This e-liquid is made up of flavoring, vegetable glycerin, and propylene glycol. When you put the juice into your device and take a drag from it the battery will heat up the liquid creating a cloud of heavy smoke. While many brands claim to only have these three chemicals in them which are relatively harmless many brands aren’t telling the truth. In reality, many companies have many other chemicals inside their e-liquids. For example, diacetyl, a chemical that causes defects to the lungs has made its appearance in many vape companies e-liquids. If vapers continue to vape e-liquid with diacetyl in it they will develop a disease known as popcorn lung which causes your lungs to get small holes in them.

With the increasing use of e-cigs amongst teens, parents begin to wonder what is happening to their kid when they are smoking these. While teens are told to stay away from nicotine filled vapes they still gravitate towards them and see it as something cool to do amongst their friends. Teens simply don't have any idea of the harms that vaping can cause them because they're having fun inhaling their fruity flavors while choosing the safer alternative over cigarettes. In the last year teen vaping has gone up massively. Mashable, a well known social media account amongst young generations posted a poll asking high school students how many of them have tried vaping. In that poll, over 65% of the students voted that they have tried vaping at least once. Even though these teens think they are choosing the safer alternative their bodies aren’t acting saying the same. Nicotine, a very addictive substance is entering your body and warping the way your body functions. This is where the term vaping is misunderstood amongst teens. Most teens just see a vape as something fun to experiment with that tastes good completely missing the fact that they are becoming addicted to nicotine.

As vaping keeps on spreading amongst the teenage generation the older generation keeps on having rising concerns about this trend. Almost anyone you ask will know that cigarettes can cause lung cancer and other health risks. Many people in older generations are heavily addicted to cigarettes because back when they were younger they were accepted as something that was good for you. Obviously, people soon found out that cigarettes weren’t good for your health at all and were recommend to stop. For this very reason, many people living in older generations see vaping as a similar cycle to cigarettes. Of course, the biggest concern these older generations have for teens is the nicotine inside the e-liquids. Adults watch teens be sucked into vaping by companies promoting fruity delicious flavors while in reality they are just destroying their bodies with nicotine and repeating the same process as older generations did with cigarettes.

In conclusion, vaping has become a national phenomenon among teens. While teens believe they are being healthy and choosing a safer alternative to cigarettes they are missing the fact they are becoming addicted to nicotine. Older generations, on the other hand, are concerned for these teens because they see a similar trend happening with vapes as they did with cigarettes. With no set rules from the FDA, these vape companies continue to target teens with fruity flavors without giving a true description of what is inside these e-liquids.