Can you pronounce all the ingredients in a vape?

Rebecca Pack and Oona Warren
2 days ago
5 min read

Heavy metals. Diacetyl. Benzene. Cadmium. Acrolein. Formaldehyde. While these may seem like dangerous chemicals found in plastics, fumes, and other carcinogenic substances, these difficult-to-pronounce ingredients are all found in a product that 1.63 million youths in the U.S. consume: vapes.

Why is vape use so prevalent in teenagers? Why do powerful businesses target vulnerable children, killing them slowly for revenue? Why can’t teens quit?

It all draws back to the power of persuasion. Large and greedy corporations could care less about children’s poisoned bodies, as long as they see the cash piling up. These businesses take advantage of the developing minds of teenagers, ones like you and me, using appealing flavors to lure adolescent consumers in. And once they start, they can’t stop. The flavoring chemicals used in vape products report inflated percentages of addiction with teenagers. The bright flashy colors and sweet flavors do catch your eye, no? That’s how they get you. That’s what they want. These enterprises not only target defenseless users with their physical products, but with their advertising of them as well. According to the National Institutes of Health, “7 in 10 teens are exposed to e-cigarette advertising.” This huge statistic represents the amount of work corporations put into pushing their harmful product onto teen viewers.

It's funny; teenagers are in such a rush to put themselves in adults’ shoes—sometimes making decisions to drink or smoke to mimic their idea of maturity—when in reality, these choices make them more child-like. Teens constantly fall for the silly scam of pastel packaging and bubblegum flavor. Most adolescents readily assume they are strong enough to say no and reject this temptation, but is it really that easy?

A huge factor in teen vaping is peer pressure, and the perception that it looks “cool” to vape or smoke. Lucy Popova, PH.D., assistant professor at the School of Public Health at Georgia State University articulates this: “There’s a lot of social influencing going on,” she says. “Much of it is the perception that the cool kids are using e-cigs.” It is also perceived that vaping has a positive social impact on those who partake in it. Here at Eagle Rock High School, vaping is extremely prevalent. We see the smoke that floods the bathrooms being exhaled from all age groups. This close proximity to non-vapers could be dangerous; when all of your friends are vaping, it’s almost as if there is a club you aren’t a part of. If you start vaping, your problems are solved, right? Wrong.

The use of nicotine can have a lasting effect on a minor’s brain development. Teens who vape are more likely to experience anxiety, sleep disturbance, and even mood disorders. Some teens mistakenly turn to nicotine as a method of self-medication for mental health issues, yet vaping can actually worsen conditions such as anxiety and depression. The use of an e-cigarette can even have an academic and social impact, as grades, family time, and your social dynamic can all be affected. According to the CDC, “Nicotine can harm brain development which continues until about age 25.” When teenagers use and abuse nicotine, they are slowing their mental development. This leads to long-term changes in their mental well-being as they grow older, which harms their ability to learn, ruins their impulse control, and even slows their brain activity. Vaping can also create addiction and substance abuse issues in teens starting from a young age, as they are more likely to try illicit drugs and other nicotine products when exposed to them during adolescence.

Aside from negative social and mental effects, teen vapers experience a vast variety of harmful physical effects as well. Vaping in teenagers causes increases in blood pressure, heart rate, heart attacks, and strokes. These diseases are common among unhealthy middle aged adults--but your choices now can prevent that from becoming your future. Other internal aspects include popcorn lung, which is a serious lung disease that the ingredients in vapes cause. This disease can appear at any point in time after too much exposure to vaping; it is abhorrent, non-curable, and it hurts. Teens who vape are also susceptible to life-long forms of cancer, which ruins your future faster than taking a puff from the dangerous device. After learning the truth, is the temporary satisfaction really worth the life long struggle?

Vaping never has been, and never will be worth it. Everyone makes bad decisions in high school, but wouldn’t you rather remember a bad haircut instead of developing lung cancer?

Vape products are a disgusting cash grab by powerful corporations that have been pushing this ongoing scam for years—and your lungs aren’t a business opportunity. If you are one of the many teenagers struggling with vaping addiction, this is your sign to quit. However, years of research prove that quitting isn’t as simple as putting the vape down once and for all. It is a process that can take years, but the duration of the journey will be worth it when it ensures saving your life. If you or someone you know is struggling with vape addiction, assistance is readily available. The American Lung Association funds the N-O-T: Not on Tobacco program for teen vapers from the ages 13-19, which “[gives] teens the resources they need to break nicotine dependency and find healthier outlets.” If you resort to smoking for mental health assistance, consider looking into Nemours’ TeensHealth website. It allows free access to a variety of different mental health issues teenagers might be facing, along with solutions and help.