Vaping has continually gained popularity since it entered the market in 2007. Since then, vaping users have risen to 41 million in the U.S. a 34 million increase from 2011, according to the World Health Organization. The attraction is the perception that vaping is actually healthy.
Vaping has especially gained popularity on college campuses over the past few years. Millennials vape because they think it is healthy, but it is also a social activity to students on college campuses.
A recent quitter, Ben Rossi, who is a student at the University of Denver said, “I used to vape a lot when I would go to parties with my friends.”
But mainly, he picked up vaping in the first place because he wanted a safer alternative than his cigarette habit.
Rossi explained, “I picked up vaping thinking it would be safer than when I smoked cigarettes in high school.”
In fact, vaping is safer than smoking because the cartridges contain fewer chemicals. This, however, does not mean it is beneficial for your health.
“Regular tobacco cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals many of which are toxic. We don’t know exactly what chemicals are in e-cigarettes,” said Micheal Blaha, M.D., director of clinical research at Johns Hopkins.
Regardless of its currency, many students at the University of Denver have admitted to quitting vaping recently. The most common reason for quitting is that the students felt it was negatively affecting their health.
“I had no appetite and I was getting to an unhealthy weight,” explains University of Denver sophomore, Gianna Dallman.
Dallman went on to say how she used to be a great cross-country runner in high school, but now gets easily out of breath at the gym. She described this as the most upsetting change.
She is not alone when she explained how vaping physically affected her health—especially her lungs. Laura Kesnig, a student at The New School explained what symptoms she physically felt when she used to vape, relating the symptoms to Dallman.
“It’s funny because when you hit it, you can feel that it’s hurting your lungs. It doesn’t feel like hitting a joint or hitting anything. It hurts you,” said Kesnig.
Lung related illnesses are very common as a result of vaping. The New England Journal of Medicine looked at biopsies of lung tissues from the people affected by the vaping-related illness, they found damage that resembled exposure to inhaled toxic substances, similar to a chemical spill.
On top of the health scares, students say they turned away from vaping due to high expenses and horrifying news stories they were seeing and reading in the media.
Dallman explained that reading endless news stories about kids her age in critical condition scared her enough to quit.
Ultimately stating, “I didn’t want to become another news story.”
This fright shared by many young teens is not lost on those who have never vaped before.
Kendal Jordan, a non-vaper and DU freshman, is worried for her friends that still actively partake.
“I have seen them getting sicker over the years,” Jordan said.
There seems to be a consensus about what DU students see for the future of vaping. They picture more regulations from the state and universities.
Some universities have already introduced mandates about vaping on campus. Michigan State, Ohio State, and the University of Texas have installed vape detectors in restrooms and hired guards to ensure that the rules are enforced on campus.
However, some DU students said they are still not sure if this will be enough to stop people from doing what they want.
Jordan says, “I definitely see more regulations, but I also see more ways to get around them.”
Students on various campuses have come to the same conclusion that vaping is bad for your health. It is not exactly clear why vaping causes illnesses yet, but studies and users think it negatively affects the lungs. Students once thought that vaping was fashionable, but now see it as quickly going out of style.
The MFJS Reporter -- Winter 2020 T-R 