More than a quarter of high school students vape across the country. More than five million kids vape everyday. The number of vaping related illnesses have skyrocketed in these last few months, why? Vaping related illnesses have become a hot topic in the political world. With more than 460 vaping related illnesses and 7 vaping related deaths confirmed in the last few months, what is causing this epidemic? Vaping products like JUUL run off of small devices called pods. The pods can come with different nicotine levels, ranging from three to five percent. JUUL claims that they do not market their devices to kids. So, many people wonder why so many teenagers and kids are using these products. JUUL claimed that their product was better for you than smoking. This was not confirmed by the FDA. Many people don’t know that pods for almost all vaping devices have traces of metal in them. This metal gathers in the lungs of the user and causes serious problems. So, why do people still vape?

While there is only three to five percent nicotine per pod, a singular pod contains a pack of cigarettes worth of nicotine. Many teenagers slowly got addicted to the nicotine that is located in the pods. Once someone is addicted to nicotine, their body craves it. It becomes a necessity for their body to cary on daily functions. It is just as addicting as most drugs. It has been proven that teenagers who vape are much more likely to switch to cigarettes later in life.

Recently, the Trump Administration has been trying to place a ban on all flavored e-vape liquids, except for tobacco. They hope that getting rid of all “fruity” flavored pods will create a decline in teen smoking rates. They also hope that it will lower the amount of fake “pods” being sold to kids around the country. These fake pods are normally laced with THC and CBD. These oils mixed with the metal tracings found in normal pods, wreak havoc on a teenagers/kids respiratory systems.

To be involved in sports, students are not supposed to vape, drink, or smoke. Last year, 19 tobacco deferrals were reported, with many more students being searched almost everyday. While CHS has a 0 tolerance policy for drugs, alcohol, and vaping, not much is really done to help students with the addiction. By the time most students were reported, they were already addicted to the nicotine located in pods. “I didn’t know I was addicted until I tried to put it down for a week and got super sick,” said one user. Trying to quit vaping is almost equal to the stress of trying to quit smoking. Teenagers are developing smokers cough at the age of 16. Once your body gets used to the active consumption of nicotine, it craves it. As teenagers keep facing nicotine addiction head on, the ban that the Trump Administration is trying to place could turn kids to cigarettes.

Currently the amount of teens smoking cigarettes nationality is the lowest it has ever been, the percent of teens using tobacco products such as vapes has been the highest ever. When cigarettes were first introduced, no one could have imagined the effect they could have on a person’s body. Fast forward, we are now in the same situation with vape products. Scientists do not know what vaping can do to a person. They are seeing some instances where vaping related illnesses are taking of a teenagers body to the point of even death. Many students that try to stop and vaping don’t know how they can. Patches are made to help with nicotine cravings, and can be hidden under clothes. Many people think that those patches only work for cigarettes, but that is not the case. If teenagers would face the facts, and realize that they are addicted to these devices, they could quit now before the tables turn on them, for the worst.