Today’s world of teenage
nicotine consumption looks very different from what many parents may have seen
in high school in the 80s and 90s, with a cigarette smoked on the sly at lunch
or after school.
You can’t smoke a
cigarette in the middle of a classroom, but vaping is much easier to conceal.
What’s more, today’s
teens deal with a much higher level of addiction.
Parents can help their
children by educating themselves about the products that today’s youth are
likely to see among their peers and through marketing, and by maintaining open
lines of communication with children about making healthy choices.
Tobacco 21 is federal
law
In 2019, the federal
government raised the minimum age for the sale or distribution of tobacco
products from 18 to 21 years. It is illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco
product—including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes (vapes) to anyone under
21. The retailers and dealers who are selling vaping products to high school
and middle school students are doing so illegally. In addition, friends, family
members and other individuals who purchase these products and give them to
people under 21 are also in violation of federal law.
Highly concentrated
Vaping products are not
regulated, so there’s no way of knowing exactly what is in any one product, but
an average nicotine vape pod contains the same level of nicotine as an entire
pack of cigarettes. Some products may even have THC or fentanyl in them.
In addition, the act of
vaping is very different from smoking a cigarette, which is also extremely
harmful.
“Vaping devices produce
an aerosol, and that aerosol is very effective at getting nicotine to pass the
mucous membranes in your mouth and your lungs,” said Jennifer Bateman, a
prevention specialist and school substance abuse educator with the Rappahannock
Area Community Services Board. “It fast-tracks into the brain, where dopamine
receptors are firing.”
Tiffany Eustice, Northwest
Region Coordinator for Tobacco Control with the Virginia Department of Health,
said the concentration of nicotine within vape products is a warning sign of
just how addictive they are.
“Vaping is way more
addictive than cigarettes,” Eustice said. “It’s far more concentrated, and
that’s why we are seeing youth having to use it, not just after school or maybe
during lunch breaks, but sneaking it in classes. They are heavily addicted.”
Eustice said it’s
important to understand that the addiction formed through vaping can be so
strong that youth aren’t just doing it socially.
“The vaping devices are
very teen-friendly,” Bateman said, and the market is constantly awash in new
devices that enable teens to hide their habit in public settings like home or
even a classroom.
Examples include hoodies
with drawstrings containing hidden tubes to allow users to inhale from a hidden
device and insulated “travel” mugs where the straw is actually a vaping
inhaler.
“And kids will make
their own,” Bateman said. “They’ll take a highlighter and take everything out
of it, put the vape inside and it will look like just a pen they have in their
backpack.
“It’s changing every
day, and is very hard to keep up with.”
Researchers are
beginning to see adolescents and teens using oral nicotine pouches, a product
intended to help adult smokers quit the habit. One popular brand name is Zyn. While
these pouches can be useful if they help a smoking-addicted adult to quit,
researchers from Harvard’s School of Public Health noted earlier this year that
the nicotine in Zyn pouches is highly addictive and can increase cardiovascular
disease risk in people who are not already using nicotine.
When to talk to kids
Bateman starts her
education work with children as young as 2 or 3 years old through a program
called Healthy Alternatives for Little Ones (HALO).
At this age, she said,
parents and educators can help children understand how the brain and body work
together, how to name and tame big feelings, and the importance of making
choices that will keep the body healthy.
As children start to get
older, talking more specifically about the dangers of using things like
cigarettes, vaping devices, alcohol and other substances prepares them to make
better choices.
“Doing that preventative
work before your child gets to middle school or high school and are exposed to
those things when you are not with them is very important,” Bateman said. “Talk
about why people would use those substances.”
Often, substance misuse
is tied to mental health.
“Usually, it’s stress
and those overwhelming feelings that kids have, and they want this discomfort
to go away. They want to be ‘normal’ like their friends,” she said. “But these
big feelings are what’s normal for a teenager.”
The key is seeking
better ways to manage the discomfort those feelings cause, such as talking to a
mental healthcare provider, exercising or enjoying a hobby, spending time with
close friends who encourage healthy choices or talking with a trusted adult.
More than anything,
adults can help their children make healthy choices by laying a foundation of
open and honest communication, Bateman said.
This means listening
more than lecturing when your teen talks to you about behaviors they are seeing
among peers. It also means educating yourself about what your child is likely
to see.
“This is not a one-time
60-minute lecture,” Eustice said. “It’s a lot of small conversations.”
She encourages
open-ended questions such as, “What do you think about vapes?” or “What have
you heard about vaping?”
“Find out what they are
seeing,” Eustice said.
And remember: The No. 1
protective factor for young people against addiction is having a caring adult
they can speak with openly about their feelings and the behaviors they are
seeing around them.
To learn more, and to
stay informed about community trainings that can help you stay on top of what
teens and adolescents are encountering, visit rappahannockareacsb.org.
What to look for
While the act of vaping
can be easy to hide, the signs of a vaping habit or nicotine addiction are
something parents can learn to look for. Bateman and Eustice encourage parents
to talk to their children if they spot the following:
· A change in behaviors. Bigger
reactions to small things like being asked to perform a household chore.
· Sneaking off frequently to use the
bathroom or for unexplained reasons.
· Increased irritability and mood
swings.
· A change in sleeping patterns, or
insomnia.
· Extra chargers lying around the
house, especially if you never see the devices they charge. A child suddenly
purchasing batteries regularly.
· An unexplained increase in the
amount of money a child is spending.
· An abnormal quantity of devices that
look like USB drives in the child’s room or bag.
· An overwhelming fruity scent on the
child or in the child’s room.
Know about nicotine
Nicotine is highly
addictive, and just 5 milligrams a day is enough to start an addiction,
according to the U.S. Surgeon General. A popular brand of oral nicotine pouches
can have as much as 6 milligrams of nicotine per pouch. One JUUL pod contains
approximately 40 milligrams of nicotine.
Nicotine can be harmful to young brains, which are still
developing and maturing until the mid-to-late 20s, according to the National
Institute of Mental Health. Its use during adolescence can affect the
formation of brain circuits, which can lead to attention deficit disorders and
learning disabilities, among other issues, according to The
Truth Initiative.
A 2023 National Youth
Tobacco Survey found that 10% of middle and high school students were currently
using a tobacco product.
