With the recent rise in vaping and electronic cigarettes, more teens have become inclined to smoke, especially due to the way vaping companies are marketing their products. Initially, electronic cigarettes were created as a better alternative to smoking normal cigarettes and tobacco since vapes contain nicotine without tobacco's harmful carcinogens. The intention was to help cigarette smokers have a healthier option to feed their addiction. However, as vaping has become more popular among adults, it has also increased in popularity among teens. Whether or not the vape companies intended to have this effect is up for debate, but this article argues that these institutions marketed their product to appeal to younger customers.
People have been smoking tobacco for centuries, with the most recent version being cigarettes. According to the CDC, "Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States. Nearly 40 million U.S. adults still smoke cigarettes... Each year, nearly half a million Americans die prematurely from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke." The United States' tobacco health crisis is concerning, with 16 million people living with a serious illness caused by smoking and the United States spending more than 225 billion dollars on medical care to treat smoking-related diseases each year. Most people know that smoking tobacco is dangerous; however, most do not realize that vaping is only a slightly better alternative.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute conducted multiple studies that revealed the long-term use of e-cigarettes causes harm to users' blood vessels while increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. These findings, which were published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, suggest that chronic e-cigarette users are exposed to the risk of vascular diseases similar to that of chronic smokers. These studies also discovered that using both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes may cause a greater risk than using either product alone. In one experiment, researchers collected blood samples from participants with long-term e-cigarette use, long-term cigarette smoking, and non-users. They then exposed each sample to cultured human blood vessel cells. The study found that e-cigarette users' blood vessel cells produced significantly less nitric oxide than non-users. In addition, the results supported that the blood vessel cells in e-cigarette smokers were weaker and more permeable than those of both cigarette smokers and non-users. The study also found that e-cigarettes had harmful cardiovascular effects different from those caused by tobacco smoke, leading to the question of whether vaping is really safer than smoking or if they are both dangerous for different reasons.
Nevertheless, nicotine harms developing brains. As people gain new memories and learn new skills, the brain creates connections and synapses between its cells that allow for cells to communicate with each other. According to the National Institute of Men's Health, human brains typically stop growing from the mid to late 20's. Developing brains build synapses faster, meaning that they take in more information faster. Thus, addiction, which is a form of learning, is more harmful to developing brains. But how exactly is nicotine addictive? When a person ingests nicotine, their body releases the chemical dopamine, which makes the brain feel happy. However, too much dopamine is bad for the system, especially when it is artificially triggered. Our bodies naturally release dopamine when we accomplish something, which is why we enjoy meeting our goals. However, when someone consistently vapes, they train their brains to associate feeling good with vaping instead of gaining pleasure from things with real value. Thus, chronic vaping can often lead to a lack of productivity and loss of motivation because it creates a false sense of pleasure. In addition, doing normal fun things like hanging out with friends or playing sports can be less enjoyable.
So why exactly do so many teens vape? One of the main reasons why vaping has become so popular among teens and young adults is because vape companies have branded and marketed their products to appeal to younger audiences. For example, most vape companies like Elf Bar, have fruity and candy like flavors. Some of the most popular flavors include watermelon, blueberry, mint, vanilla, and mango. By using fruity and sweet flavors, vape companies market their product to seem more innocent, blinding kids from seeing the danger in vaping. In addition, most companies rely on the sales of disposable vapes, which are e-cigarettes that you cannot charge. Because these vapes do not have rechargeable batteries, they are cheaper to produce and therefore are more affordable for younger customers. However, how can we know if these companies intended to target underage customers? It is hard and almost impossible to answer this question, considering that e-cigarettes would not be nearly as popular among adults if these colorful flavors did not exist. Although we cannot determine their true intentions, I believe that vape companies, if they truly did not want to reach younger audiences, would make their products either less accesible or more menacing. Now in most of Europe, cigarette boxes have horrifying images of the diseases and health dangers of smoking. Whereas, vapes are typically colorfully packaged and brightly designed.
Overall, the popularity of vaping among teens can be attributed to the marketing tactics of vape companies, who have made their products appealing to younger audiences by using sweet and fruity flavors and relying on cheaper disposable vapes. While it is unclear whether these companies intended to target underage customers, the dangers of vaping remain undeniable. Vaping poses severe health risks, including damage to the lungs and circulatory system, as well as disrupting the balance of dopamine in the brain. Therefore, it is essential for people of all ages to avoid vaping and prioritize their health.
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