The E-Cigarette Phenomenon from the Eyes of a College Student

This summer I have been working as the communications intern with the American Heart Association in New York City. This internship has taught me so much not only about the communications field, but also about my own health. Although I have never been a user of e-cigarette nicotine products, I have become a lot more aware of the impact that this epidemic is having across the United States.

As an incoming junior at Syracuse University, I have noticed that the use of e-cigs has become normalized across my campus, and nationally. Whether it’s walking to class, eating in the dining hall, or walking around the town with friends, it is hard to spot a student that is not using an e-cig device. However, college students are not even the entire problem. People are starting to use e-cigs very early on. According to the American Heart Association in 2018 vaping and e-cigarette use increased 78% for high schoolers and 48% for middle schoolers.

E-cigarette companies, like JUUL and many others, market these devices as a healthier alternative to cigarettes. They claim that their target audience is adults trying to quit smoking. However, there is not enough evidence to prove that these devices effectively help adults quit. According to the American Heart Association, adults using e-cigarettes were 28% less likely to quit using real cigarettes. Right now, people are using cigarettes less, and vaping more. But, a lot of these vaping devices audience are made up of teenagers and young adults that were never smoking real cigarettes in the first place.

The two main fears of this vaping phenomenon are

1. Vaping can renormalize smoking, and lead teenagers that did not smoke cigarettes in the first place to start.

2. Vaping might be linked to heart disease and cancer. There is not enough research to support that these devices are safe.

When I ask my peers that use these devices why they do it, they don’t have a clear response. They themselves do not know exactly why they started; they just did because they were following the crowd. Vape users don’t understand that just because they are not consuming tobacco does not mean that vaping is okay. The juice in e-cigarettes contain harmful toxins, contaminants and nicotine. There is also not real proof of the long-term effects.

When the cigarette was first introduced, it had a very similar effect. It became popular worldwide because no one knew about the numerous health risks smoking introduced. My fear is that e-cigarettes will have the same fate. An entire generation of users are at risk, but since there is no solid proof, they are not concerned.

The question now is, how can we reduce the number of e-cig users?

Personally, I believe that this is going to be an extremely difficult task. The regulation of large vaping device companies, like JUUL, could be a start. However, there are so many similar companies and brands that produce the same type of product, it would be extremely hard to regulate them all.

Raising the age of purchase is another tactic that can be used. But, children under 18 have been getting these devices already, raising the age might not stop them.

I think that children need to be more educated. Most users view it as something safe, fun and cool. They focus on impressing their friends in the moment, and do not consider the possible long-term effects. Have conversations with your friends, children, and peers. Explain the uncertainty and explain the danger of addiction.