While, the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows a decrease in the number of adolescents smoking traditional cigarettes; 70% in 1991 down to 58.4% in 2003 and even further down to 28.9% in 2017, e-cigarettes entered the U.S. marketplace around 2007, and are now the most commonly used tobacco product among the youth population. In 2022, the National Youth Tobacco Survey found that more than 2.5 million high and middle school students currently use e-cigarettes, with more than 1 in 4 students using e-cigarettes on a daily basis.
Vaping affects many aspects of the body, including physical endurance. When smoking, less oxygen gets to the heart, lungs and muscles. Similar to inhaling cigarette smoke, vaping can cause coughing and chest pain or tightness. While the long-term implications of vaping are still unknown, in the short-term, vaping can lead to lung injury and inflammation. This can affect anyone who vapes, even youth who regularly engage in physical education classes, field sports, and extra-curricular activities, and leads to diminished performance, both on and off the field.
In order to combat the growth of e-cigarette use among adolescents, a number of prevention and cessation services have been created, including the My Life My Quit program. The My Life My Quit program is a free and confidential service for adolescents who want help quitting all forms of tobacco including vaping. When an adolescent signs up for the program, they then get to speak with a quit coach. Quit coaches receive extensive training as tobacco treatment specialists, with additional training on adolescent cognitive and psychosocial development. Coaches use motivational interviewing and cognitive-behavioral techniques to help teens:
- Develop a quit plan.
- Identify triggers for tobacco use.
- Practice refusal skills.
- Obtain ongoing support for changing behaviors.
We reached out to a youth in the community to ask about how nicotine products can affect one’s overall health and the resources that are available to them to quit. Mykenna Roy age 20 stated “When I was in high school JUUL was a big thing and knowing that kids are getting popcorn lung and all these other complications from nicotine addiction and inhaling nicotine. It’s upsetting because they didn’t have to start doing it but they did it because it was cool. As somebody who doesn’t vape, I’ve seen those commercials with the truth initiative where they show the embarrassing un-healthy sides of vaping and those have been pretty eye-opening to me, so I think if I did have a vaping addiction that I’ll probably go to those commercials first.”
The Lake County General Health District promotes the use of the My Life My Quit program and works to encourage adolescents to want to quit. Text “Start My Quit” to 36072 or click “Live Chat” on the website, https://oh.mylifemyquit.org/index, to get started today.
