The following response was created as a part of a writing assignment on the 24th of November 2019.
The smoking of tobacco is nothing new, dating back thousands of years, but only becoming truly popularized after the colonization of America. Everyone and their mother know it’s bad for you, yet many people still love taking a puff from that wacky tobacky from time to time. When it comes to the topic of nicotine, I’m certainly no saint. In my freshman year of college, I owned and smoked a cheap vape pen regularly, and still today smoke tobacco and cigarettes every now and then. I know it’s not good for me, but I do it anyway, because I want to. So, in this paper, I’m not going to argue whether or not I support vaping. I will say that I do not believe it is good for anyone. I personally don’t want my kid’s abusing nicotine in the future, but I believe the use of nicotine is any person’s individual choice. Here I would like to state the facts of what nicotine does to your body, and what affects it has on your brain, and any individual who reads it can make their own decision on whether or not they want to try nicotine.
Tobacco products like cigarettes contain nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar. When inhaled, carbon monoxide binds to protein in red blood cells, attaching itself to hemoglobin in place of oxygen. The oxygen poor cells are then transported all throughout the body, including the brain and the heart. Tar is a residue found in tobacco that contains a carcinogenic product called benzopyrene. When inhaled, it binds to your DNA, causing mutations and cancer. Smoking tar may also lead to emphysema, a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. When you smoke, you trap harmful products in alveoli causing an inflammatory response. The inflammatory chemicals then dissolve your alveolar septum, creating large air cavities in the lungs.
Electronic cigarettes (a.k.a vapes), first came to stores in 2006, and have steadily been growing over the years. The original intent of the E-cigarette was to help tobacco smokers decelerate their smoking habits, with the intended goal of abstaining from smoking altogether. Additionally, E-cigarettes are appraised amongst tobacco products for their lack of harmful chemicals, such as tar and carbon monoxide. However, as time progressed, the popularity of the E-cigarettes swelled. Due to their higher nicotine content and candy-like flavors, it became extremely popular with young adults and teens, peeking first in 2015 as over 15% of high-school students reported vaping regularly. Now, over 25% of high-school students have reported vaping regularly, and around 5% of middle-school students have reported vaping regularly. According to the surgeon general,
“Until about age 25, the brain is still growing … Nicotine exposure during adolescence, a critical period for brain development, can cause addiction and can harm the developing brain.”
Nicotine is known to be more addictive than crack cocaine and heroin. It’s even been stated that,
“More teens are smoking E-cigarettes today than adults.”
Vape proliferation is not something teens are unaware of. As a generation born to the internet, we read and hear about vaping constantly, from news articles to meme pages. One of the most popular millennial apps, Vine, had a vast range of highly appraised videos involving vaping products, such as the famous, “Adam!” clip or the “Wow Vape Girl” clip. Unfortunately, health risks caused by vaping have been commonly disregarded by both teens and young adults alike. Until recently, the evidence towards adverse effects of vaping beyond brain damage and addiction have been mostly theoretical, making it easier for teens to cope with the addiction. However, adolescents may no longer be able to ignore these adverse effects. According to the Washington Post,
“On November 8th, officials identified vitamin E acetate in the lung fluid of 29 people sickened in the outbreak of dangerous vaping related injuries.”
This chemical was being used to “thicken” the THC liquids found in dab cartridges, THC-infused oils, and some vape juices. Similar cases of chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, and rapid weight loss have been reported in hospitalized victims. Although the first vape-influenced death was reported in Illinois on August 23rd, the first report linking directly to THC-infused oil was reported on September 4th in Wisconsin. The Oregon patient was a middle-aged man, who contracted severe respiratory illness after smoking from a product bought in store. At this point in time, over 200 separate cases of vape related illnesses have sprung up, and several states including Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and California have all placed bans on the production and distribution of vape related products. With Illinois, New Jersey, and Delaware on the way, as well as disendorsement by the Presidential cabinet, vaping may be over before it really began. Whether this will be the absolute end of vaping is up to time. Perhaps vaping may soon become the new epidemic plaguing our streets, much like opioids or crack. At the end of the day, nicotine related products are something I wouldn’t suggest to anyone below the age of 25, but realistically, I’d better suggest acting cautiously before smoking the substance.
MLA Citations
“E-Cigarette Fluids Disables the Lung's Cleaning Systems and Could Cause Chronic Diseases, Study Finds.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 14 Aug. 2018, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/vaping-cancer-effects-lung-damage-cancer-smoking-tobacco-cigarettes-a8489566.html.
Knowles, Hannah, and Lena H. Sun. “What We Know about the Mysterious Vaping-Linked Illness and Deaths.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 10 Jan. 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/09/07/what-we-know-about-mysterious-vaping-linked-illnesses-deaths/.
Angelicalavito. “Death Toll Rises from Mysterious Lung Illnesses Linked to Vaping, Prompting CDC to Sound Alarm on e-Cigarettes.” CNBC, CNBC, 6 Sept. 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/06/cdc-reports-at-least-three-deaths-in-vaping-related-lung-disease-outbreak.html.
“History of Tobacco in the World - Tobacco Timeline.” Tobacco, 16 June 2016, https://tobaccofreelife.org/tobacco/tobacco-history/.
“Know the Risks of e-Cigarettes for Young People: Know the Risks: E-Cigarettes & Young People: U.S. Surgeon General's Report.” E, https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/knowtherisks.html#risks.
Wow Vape Girl Vine - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8tVi6wWQyM.
Adam Smoke Fail Vine - Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZSfPPJ4Fk8.
“Take Action Today. Breathe Better Tomorrow.” COPD Foundation, https://www.copdfoundation.org/.