According to the Food and Drug Administration, 2.1 million high school students vape. Vaping is a topic of conversation for students, teachers and administration.  Several students were willing to go on the record with the Mountain Echo about this topic but wished to remain anonymous.  

“I saw this study, and it was the number of millions of people that were vaping from 2013. It went from 2.6 million to 5.5 million in ten years. And it’s because they kept coming out with new flavors that were targeting a certain group of people, which was younger kids, so that they would keep buying,“ an anonymous student said.

According to The Cleveland Clinic, the particles a person inhales while vaping can cause inflammation and irritation in the lungs. This can lead to lung damage and scarring and narrowing of tubes.  

Many people believe that vaping is a lesser evil than smoking; however, that isn’t necessarily true. 

“There is no scientific evidence to support vaping as a healthy option to smoking. Also since vaping is relatively new the long-term ramifications are unknown,” nurse Paula Dibert said. 

Many students have attempted to vape and have become addicted to it, but others have been able to stop before becoming addicted. 

“I vaped for only a summer. I wasn’t a fiend or anything,“ an anonymous student said.

However, a larger number of students have attempted vaping and have become severely addicted. 

“I started whenever it was a trend to buy those puff bars, square puff bars, and then I would get them off random people. The one led to the next,” an anonymous student said.

Certain students have attempted to quit, but the power of nicotine is just too strong.

“I tried to, I’ve tried multiple times, but I can’t. I’ve tried at least ten times,” an anonymous student said. 

“I get really mad when I don’t do it. Then I just give in and do it and buy stuff,” an anonymous student said. 

However, there is a population of students who are very much against vaping and all sorts of addictions. 

“If you vape, it’s a certified death sentence. You’re losing time that you have on this planet. It’s destroying your lungs. People just need to stop, and I don’t know why older people are buying them for younger kids, it makes no sense; you’re just going to destroy their lives as you’re destroying yours,” an anonymous student said.

Some people cannot stand vaping due to what it does to their mental health and their stress levels, but there are others who feel like vaping helps them stay calm under pressure and duress. 

“It’s a distraction. It’s more of a security blanket more than anything,”  an anonymous student  said.

“It helps me reduce stress,” an anonymous student said.

Then, there are the students who love vaping and have no desire or want to stop. 

“No, I’ve never thought about quitting because I love to waste my money,“ an anonymous student said.

According to The National Library of Medicine, 60% of adolescents tried vaping and E-drugs for the first time when they were with or around their friends. 

“My friends vape, so I vape,“ an anonymous student said.

“I started because of peer pressure. All of my friends were doing it, so I felt the need to follow in their footsteps,“ an anonymous student said.

Addiction isn’t the only result or impact vaping can have on people. Becoming addicted to vaping can cause asthma, lung scarring, organ damage and more. It isn’t healthy and it isn’t safe. 

Not all hope is lost for teenagers who are addicted to vaping. There are options and ways to stop. One way is to realize what it does to the extracurriculars students take part in. 

“I quit vaping because it doesn’t benefit me, and I play a sport. I don’t want to be affected by my sport and not have the best potential I could be when I’m doing that,“ an anonymous student said. 

UTSouthwestern encourages teens and their parents to have a plan. “Help them build a list of actions and activities they can use to distract themselves when cravings strike,” the article states. 

For some students, they find it easy to quit vaping. 

“No, it wasn’t hard to quit, because I wasn’t addicted. I only did it because all of my friends did it. So, it wasn’t hard to stop,“ an anonymous student said.

However, others have no desire to quit, even with the knowledge of what vaping can impact. 

“No, I’ve never thought about quitting because I’m addicted,“ an anonymous student said.

Finally, there are students who wish to quit, but find themselves unable to do so. 

“Yes, I have thought about quitting. I don’t know why I can’t. It’s kind of just the urge of wanting it and it makes you angry,“ an anonymous student said.