The FDA has just issued a statement that the use of e-cigarettes in teenagers and lower has now reached what they say is epidemic proportion. It has gotten so bad that at least one Texas school district has changed its dress code. Students will no longer be allowed to walk around with long-sleeved shirts, as teachers and administration found that children were rolling up the Juuls in their sleeves. The “flash drive-sized” Juuls are perfectly concealed in that manner. The schools are giving automatic in-school suspensions to any student caught “smoking” or even concealing a Juul. Vaping impact and no one was ready, tremendous consenquences in its wake.
Startling Statistics
In a federally-funded survey done by the University of Michigan of more than 45,000 students (grades 8, 10 and 12), it was found that twice as many students were vaping in 2018 over 2017. The University of Michigan survey has been conducted since 1975 of all nicotine-related products. The 2018 jump in usage is the largest increase ever seen. About 1 in 5 students are vaping.
It has been well established by the medical community that nicotine affects developing brains. Our brains keep developing into our mid-twenties with high school years deeply affected by the drug.
Juul Labs, presumably concerned about this trend has stated:
“We suspended the distribution of certain flavored JUULpods to traditional retail stores as of November 17, 2018, strengthened the age verification of our industry-leading e-commerce site, eliminated our Facebook and Instagram accounts, and are developing new technology to further limit youth access and use. We are committed to working with lawmakers, the Surgeon General, FDA, state Attorneys General, local municipalities, and community organizations as a transparent and responsible partner in this effort.”
However, let us not delude ourselves with Juul’s stance. According to “Truth Initiative,” an organization dedicated to fighting big tobacco, between 2016 and 2017, Juul sales increased 641 percent to more than 16 million devices.
Last year, the vaping market was valued at $15 billion and is rising. There is huge money in vaping and the players jumping in know it, especially big tobacco. It has always been about the nicotine. Cigarettes are a nicotine delivery system as is Juul. Nicotine is not only addictive, but it can lead to other addictions. Ironically, many who vape eventually wind up smoking cigarettes.
Socially Acceptable is not Socially Responsible
Cigarette smoke has become reprehensible in today’s sensibility. Vaping, which is water vapor, has been seen as more acceptable. True, vaping does not impart tars in the lungs nor does the air and clothing smell from smoke, but nicotine is every bit as prevalent and habits forming. Big tobacco knows it.
When vaping first arrived on the scene it was somehow viewed as nicotine-infused gum or “the patch.” It is in a different category. The act of vaping, much like the act of smoking a cigarette is “cool.” It has a socially acceptable component, but it is hardly socially responsible. Vaping is the next generation of smoking. Instead of clouds of smoke, there are clouds of vapors but the ultimate goal, the delivery of addictive nicotine, is still present. Vaping presents an opportunity for tobacco companies. We may view vaping as the prodigal son but big tobacco views it as their savior. Vaping shows great promise as fulfilling the need for greater profits in light of years of a stagnating market.
Rationalizing vaping is not nearly as hard for big tobacco as conventional cigarette smoking. They can point to a reduction in lung cancer danger or as being a cleaner alternative in regard to filling up space with smoke.
However, the advocates of vaping have no rationalization for nicotine addiction and the effects of the habit on the brains of children. From an ethical perspective, vaping, as opposed to smoking, is merely a substitution and not an advantage in the long-term.
In the absence of understanding the ethical consequences, school systems must now contend with the same problems big tobacco has brought to the table for decades. Vaping impact and no one was ready!
