The numbers are startling. More than 3.6 million middle and high school students currently use e-cigarettes, according to the latest National Youth Tobacco Study. Another national study last year found that 11 percent of high school seniors, 8 percent of 10th-graders, and 3.5 percent of eighth-graders vaped with nicotine during a previous one month period. The worrying part? Young people think vaping is mostly harmless.
To understand vaping, it’s best to start on broad terms. To vape is to inhale vapor created from a liquid heated up inside a device. From there, things quickly get complicated. The devices have many names—vape pens, pod mods, tanks, electronic nicotine delivery devices (ENDS), e-hookahs and e-cigarettes. The liquid they contain also has many monikers—it might be called e-juice, e-liquid, cartridges, pods, or oil. Most vape liquids contain a combination of propylene glycol or glycerol—also called glycerin—as a base, and nicotine, marijuana, or flavoring chemicals to produce common or outlandish flavors, from mint to “unicorn puke.” The devices rely on batteries to power heating elements made of various materials that aerosolize the liquid.
When potentially risky behaviors experience an uptick in popularity, health researchers are never far behind—gathering data. A Yale study last year found that, among students at three Connecticut public schools, those who used e-cigarettes were more likely to smoke regular cigarettes in the future.
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How to talk to your kids
Probably the worst thing a parent could do for their child would be to buy an e-cigarette under the misconception that this might prevent them from smoking regular cigarettes,. We encourage parents to talk openly and freely about vaping—with the caveat that they provide accurate information. Parents should base their information on accurate facts and also encourage their children to read about and understand the science on this issue instead of relying on what their friends and peers tell them.
We suggest explaining the addictive nature of vaping, which would mess with the one thing teens crave the most: independence. It is never too early to begin talking about e-cigarettes in age-appropriate language. When you are out and about with your children and see an advertisement, for example, take the opportunity to talk about it,. . As they grow older, parents can expand on their thoughts and expectations. It’s also important to give teens and young adults the space to ask questions.
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