Doctor- Teen Juul Use Epidemic

    After the Chief of the FDA blamed the company, Juul, for the epidemic of teens using e-cigarettes, the vape company and four other brands must send a plan that discourages teens from buying their products within the next sixty days.

    Students all over the country have been using these products at home, at school, and other public places without parents or other adult figures knowing.

    According to CNBC, “Their products, available in sweet flavors, are popular with young people who can hide the sleek devices from parents and teachers.”

    Everyday students witness other students vaping in the hallways, classrooms, or outside of schools. Junior Emily Kuntz believes students should not be allowed to vape while they are at school.

    “They should not be used by teens because I think vaping ruins a students drive to try and do their best when they are in school,” Kuntz said.

    Although students who vape might all do it for different reasons, junior Andrew Radigan believes other students vape because they think it might make them cool.

    “Students probably vape to be cool or to fit in, but I don’t think they should be allowed to because it will get them addicted to Nicotine at a young age,” Radigan said.

    Some students might think our generation’s vaping problem is no different than previous generations’ smoking problem; however, it is much different.

    According to Business Insider, “The devices also pack a more powerful nicotine punch than traditional cigarettes: the Juul contains roughly twice the concentration as cigarettes and other vape pens.”

    Another concern with the amount of Nicotine that is in a Juul is how it affects a students brain. Kids’ brains are still developing in high school, and they can be altered negatively with the use of Nicotine.

    According to Business Insider, “The crux of the problem centers on what nicotine does to the teen brain — especially in an area called the prefrontal cortex, which plays a key role in emotional control, decision making, and impulse regulation.”

    Although the vaping products are fairly easy to purchase and hide, people are wondering how parents and other adults do not see their children taking part in the addictive habit. Radigan believes parents should be more aware of what their children are doing.

    “Parents should know what is going on with their kids and what they are doing in their spare time. Parents shouldn’t be okay with their child vaping either,” Radigan said.

    So what needs to be done to fix the vaping problem? Kuntz believes adults should start putting punishments in place for when students are caught vaping.

    “Adults need to start punishing kids for vaping. They should start banning Juuls. Teachers should start giving out detentions at school, and parents should starting grounding their children,” Kuntz said.

    Vaping has become a nationwide issue for teens, and more needs to be done to prevent anymore teens from trying the new product. Both parents and companies of the product need to take part in changing the norm for teens.

    To find CNBS or Business Insider’s side of the story, visit the links for more information: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/13/fda-chief-targets-juul-for-epidemic-of-teens-using-e-cigarettes.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/vaping-brain-effects-juul-2018-4