You’ve probably heard about the vaping epidemic that has roared across our country (and has poisoned over 200 reported people with a respiratory-vaping related illness). You’ve seen the photos, seen the news, and heard the warnings. But have you actually listened? Did you know that our generation was SO unlikely to begin smoking cigarettes in the first place, that is until the product Juul hit local Wawa’s. And now look at us, our bodies have become weak, and our brains have become addicted to the oral stimulation and addictive properties of “simply ripping a Juul.” I too once found myself addicted to this heterogeneous mix of chemicals. I once was one of the 3.6 million high schoolers, taking a bathroom pass to go meet a friend with an e-cigarette (saying that out loud makes my heartache for my younger brother, and I pray that he doesn’t make the same mistakes I did).
There have been so many cases of vape related illness’ across many young people in our country. One of the cases personally hits home, a Delaware-County teen who actually used to work at my family’s restaurant. I can actually remember one time where Kevin and I hit a Juul outback (sorry Dad), and now he’s on DailyMail for being in a coma with two failing lungs. Hearing that, this is where I finally decided to listen. I mean truly listen, process, and understand the major health risks and dangers that vaping can do to our bodies. That could’ve been me, and it still could be unless I quit cold-turkey, right now. Because I’ve tried to quit, just like Kevin, and it’s not easy. I can’t afford to risk my life like this, not for myself, my family, or friends. So I quit and currently am about a week free of nicotine. The struggle is real, but I can feel myself having deeper breaths every minute.
My roommate Marina once said to me: “Remember how back when everyone smoked cigarettes and nobody thought it was bad for you until everyone started getting cancer and dying like 30 years later? It was like a mass extinction of people because of cigarettes. What if that happens with people who vape? We don’t know what’s in it anyway!” It was at this moment, I thought; “If there are like 20 something cigarettes in each pack of cigarettes, correlating to 20 cigarettes in one single Juul pod, then how many chemicals are actually in this thing and what even is it made of? Does vaping create a different effect on our lungs than smoking cigarettes does? What if this epidemic is gonna be a “mass extinction” of young adults in a short amount of time?”
So, I did a little research and prayed that I don’t get the mystery lung disease that I possibly curated. Anyways, I found out that vaping creates the most perfect environment (your lungs) for bacteria! Awesome! It’s also so expensive yearly (and literally inflames your lungs). When you vape, you are literally ruining your lung’s ability to fight off infection–brace yourself for the flu!
Screen shot source: CNN
There are a lot of people who are suffering from vaping and there is a way to quit! Better yourself and lower your risk of getting a respiratory related disease. We don’t even know what exactly is in e-cigarette products, and I promise you, once you are free of this addiction–your life will be better in thousands of different ways.
Thanks for reading this, please don’t vape. <3
Research from:
https://www.yalemedicine.org/stories/teen-vaping/
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/30/health/vaping-lung-disease-texas-teen/index.html