Vaping has become an epidemic among young people. Nowadays, middle schoolers vape in the restroom and the halls, meanwhile high schoolers are getting caught with vape pens daily. Vaping has become one of the most prominent reasons for students getting suspended. It has gotten so bad that teenagers can’t live without them. They lose their vape and they can’t control themselves anymore. They start searching everywhere and won’t focus or do anything without them. The biggest problem with vaping isn’t the vaping itself, but how teenagers are introduced to these things.

Teenagers sometimes find a vape on the ground and get curious and try it, or sometimes someone gives it to them, whether it is a friend, an adult, or even a random person handing them one or buying it for them. Sometimes kids can see their parents with vapes and will sneak and steal them, without their parents knowing. After they try vaping, they become easily addicted, especially due to the number of different flavors available. With flavors like cola, strawberry and bubblegum, vape pens seem as exciting to teenagers as candy. “In 2024, 5.9% of U.S. middle and high school students currently used e-cigarettes, which is 1.63 million students. This figure includes 3.5% of middle schoolers and 7.8% of high schoolers, with vaping prevalence increasing with grade level.” (www.cdc.gov)

In 2023 a 15 year old teenager, from North Carolina, was hit by the effects of vaping. Solomon Wynn was a healthy teenager who played football and lifted weights every morning. Solomon was not aware of the effects from vaping and didn’t understand why he was suddenly sick. When Solomon was affected he only had a small cough at first. Eventually, he not only became addicted, but also had other lung problems. He later passed away on Saturday June 17, 2023 (www.cbs17.com).

With vaping, the effects are not in the moment, and may not happen for a while. The consequences of vaping are long term and may affect people later on in life. Vaping is using a device to inhale a mist of flavoring and nicotine, a highly addictive, poisonous chemical found in tobacco plants. The difference between smoking and vaping is that a vape heats tiny particles out of a liquid rather than burning tobacco. Despite there being no smoke during vaping, which leads some to assume that it's safer than smoking, it is much worse, since vaping has the same effects and can cause long-term health problems. The particles you inhale while vaping can cause inflammation or swelling and irritation in your lungs. This may lead to lung damage, like narrowing the tubes that bring air in and out of your lungs. It is important for teenagers to be made aware of the effects that vaping can have on their overall health.