Take in a deep breath, hold it for five seconds, then blow it out. Count to five again.
In the time it took you to do that, the metaphorical vape in your hand has reached your brain, creating a buzz of adrenaline and energy, according to smokefree.gov.
Former smoker and community member Heather Ashton said the buzz of nicotine is exciting at first, which is what often draws kids to the modern-day smoking epidemic of vaping.
Ashton grew up around smoking and can even recall the different times in her childhood when her mother would send her out for cigarettes with money and a note. Cigarettes were easily accessible to her.
She recalls she started smoking as young as twelve.
“I don’t even know that I necessarily liked the taste, but it gave me a buzz,” Ashton said.
Ashton can recall cigarette advertisements were frequent, showing off models and celebrities smoking. It was a cool thing at the time.
Cigarette smoking rates are down for high school-aged youth and college students, Jordan Moss, program director with Tobacco Free Coalition of Delaware County said. Regardless of this, it doesn’t mean nicotine addictions have gone anywhere. If anything, they’re just as strong, he said.
The new vice for this buzz is electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and vapes—something uniquely targeted to the generation of current high school and college-aged students.
“We do always let students know that they are referred to as the guinea pig generation because we don't know the long-term effects of vaping …” Moss said, “It’s big tobacco using their exact same kind of plan to get a whole nother generation latched.”
But beyond the negative side effects of smoking like the tar lungs and shortness of breath, many students don’t know the wide range of negative side effects a nicotine addiction can cause.
Reports have shown that vaping and using e-cigarettes can expose users to toxic amounts of cancer-causing chemicals that aren’t currently regulated by the FDA. Additionally, these chemicals create negative impacts on the brain of the user. So much so, that many popular vapes used in the United States are banned in the U.K., Moss said.
“Why would anyone want to be a consumer that is making someone else money but killing themselves at the same time?” Ashton questioned.
Moss said most teens report that they started smoking because they felt anxious, depressed and stressed.
“I would say anytime that you wake up in the morning and you're thinking, ‘This is what I have to do right now,’ it's not good for your health at all,” Ashton said, recalling the way her nicotine addiction affected her mental health as a young adult. “ … As a teenager and a young person, your brain is still developing. I'm sure that it had some residual effects that I may never know.”
Moss added this constant exposure to nicotine on the undeveloped under-25-year-old brain creates its own sets of learning impacts.
“Nicotine exposure affects learning, memory and attention span,” Moss said.
He also added that the mental distress, which causes many teens to start smoking, only gets worse as they develop a nicotine dependency.
According to studies referenced by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, teenagers who use e-cigarettes are more likely to continue using nicotine as adults. They also may be at greater risk of smoking conventional cigarettes later in life.
“What happens is when you use nicotine, it actually changes the way synapses are formed in your brain, which is the learning pathway or how to get back to memories and things like that,” Moss said. “That's why nicotine is so harmful, especially to those under 25.”
A nicotine addiction is a specifically difficult addiction to overcome, creating additional mental health issues on top of ones already formed by smoking.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a nicotine addiction operates and hinges on the dopamine rush you get from the buzz when you hit your vape. The initial buzz creates a dopamine hit that feels similar to a reward system in the brain.
“We have a reward system in our body [and] in our brain that starts out by doing the important things, like eating, sleeping, all those important things. And we get dopamine released, it's our happy rewards thing. It's a neurotransmitter,” said Lynn Witty, the Medical Director at the Ball State Healthy Lifestyle Center and Director of Community Organization with the Addictions Coalition of Delaware County.
“So if you put a drug in, that can also attach to those little happy receptors and release more dopamine. You get used to it, and so you actually have to use more and more of the drug to get the same amount, or not even the same amount of that quick, happy feeling. And so over a period of time, as you're increasing your drug use, you can easily become addicted,” Witty said.
However, both Witty and Moss credit this addiction and tolerance to nicotine as the reason why many smokers who become addicted find themselves more depressed or anxious than when they started smoking.
“That's why people try to use nicotine replacement therapy like gum or patches. They do struggle because it's not hitting their body as quickly as that first hit,” Moss said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, withdrawal shows up in emotional changes, irritability, inability to sleep, lack of concentration and more. These are all things that can affect the mental health of someone who uses nicotine products.
“I say all the time, if people knew how good you felt after not smoking for one year, they would never smoke,” Ashton said. “I think it's probably the same with vaping … They don't realize how bad it actually makes them feel until you're out of it.”
Moss also stressed that nicotine addiction, especially in those under the age of 25, increases irritability, anxiety and mood swings. It can also lead to an impairment of self-control, cognition and performance.
“We're trying to tell parents [to] start as early as [they] can. If you see someone vaping in public, you know, let them know … We want to make sure we stay away from those. Those hurt our bodies,” Moss said.
Witty adds that intervention by family and loved ones can be helpful because often addiction can become a difficult thing to overcome.
“You also have to think, if it's someone who's not trying to quit, they're looking to see how they can get a vape to use or find a place to use it,” Witty said. “And that's always in the back of your mind … The most important thing is getting that fix.”
Ashton smoked for multiple decades of her life, quitting after having her child and realizing how much of his life she would be missing out on while smoking. For her, it’s important students of all ages know the impact smoking will have on their life.
“I’d tell [young vape users] to consider if they want to be a slave to that vape for the rest of their life,” Ashton said. “If you want to be a slave to that, figure it out because when you're in college, you don't have much money. I remember times where I didn't have much money in college. I would smoke butts … You're still finding a way to do it. But is it worth it?”
Moss encourages anyone who vapes to try and go 10 days without smoking. He says that most can’t make it, but it opens their eyes to the problem.
For students who are ready to quit, there are resources available.
Beyond call hotlines, textlines and virtual resources like apps, Witty highlights resources like the counseling center and the Healthy Lifestyle Center on campus for students to talk it out with someone. She encourages finding support in peers, people you can trust and loved ones.
“Search out one of those people, someone you trust just even direct you in the you know, right direction for getting help. It's hard to do by yourself,” Witty said.
If you or a loved one are suffering from a vaping addiction and would like to get help, text DITCHVAPE to 88709.
For comments contact Olivia Ground at olivia.ground@bsu.edu or on X @liv_ground_25.
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