Malek Sidani, Reporter
@mmscourant
It’s funny really. We were so close. The link between cancer and smoking stopped most right in their tracks (if the aforementioned cancer didn’t). Between 1965 and 2017, the percent of smokers in America dropped from 42.4 to 14 percent according to CDC (Center for Disease Control). During the time we realized smoking was almost as deadly as it is cool, vaping was seen as a clean and healthy alternative for those who didn’t want to die.
That’s where the corporations come in. America’s pillar of pure unadulterated capitalism. They soon realized getting someone off a drug really isn’t very profitable, whereas getting someone on a drug gives you a very, very loyal customer.
So with that epiphany, companies like Juul Labs sought out the part of the population most susceptible to crippling and life lasting addiction. Teens! They figured if the fun colors and flashy logos didn’t hook high school students, the high amounts of nicotine would.
Last year, more than one in five high school seniors vaped, 16.1% of 10th graders vaped, and 6.1% of 8th graders vaped according to NPR. Additionally, 81% of current youth e-cigarette users said the flavors was their main reason for vaping according to the FDA. What those statistics boil down to is this: teenagers are so immature that they will take an addictive substance because it has a fruit flavor.
You need only walk into a bathroom during passing time to see the results for yourself. Each stall is artisanally scented with only the finest of vapours, ranging from a daring pumpkin spice latte, to a rather soothing fresh mint. Anyhow, it would appear that vaping companies are winning the fight against High School students. After all, who wouldn’t want to inhale a Unicorn Fart (real flavor)?
Now, much to the dismay of the corporations (not all press is good press) things are changing. There have now been 47 deaths , and 2,290 cases of vaping illnesses, according to the New York Times. However, these deaths seem to only come from bootleg, or illegal, vapes, not official brands. Adult vapers who have access to legal and safe brands, will most likely continue to huff and puff away.
This means the only bells this news should be ringing are school bells. Because high schoolers cannot legally vape, they get their products from dealers, which might be illegitimate. This makes it hard for high schoolers to tell what they’re buying, and if it is safe. And the vapes that are turning lungs into raisins are the same ones that are bought through illegitimate means.
Now will this change anything? It’s hard to say. There is still a relatively low amount of vaping deaths compared to cigarettes, alcohol, or hard drugs, which means the threat of dying because your lungs are filled with cotton candy is pretty distant for vaping students. Not to mention, we can all agree that vaping is pretty cool when you ignore the risk of addiction, death, and moving on to hard drugs. Despite all this, I think the amount of vaping at least in schools will definitely go down. Teens have a high tendency to avoid death (not as high as we’d like, but still), and therefore it’s likely most students will make an effort to at least vape less. Hopefully not so much that the bathrooms start smelling like bathrooms though.
