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Jack Waldon

Professor Johnson

English 1201. 519

10 April 2022

How does Nicotine and Vaping Affect Teen Bodies?

It was freshman year when I was first introduced to a vape. My friend pulled a

small black USB looking device out of his pocket, after a high school football game. I

asked him what it was, and he said, “a JUUL.” Isn't it crazy what 14 and 15-year-olds

can get their hands on these days? As I have gotten older, vaping has exceedingly

grown popular among high schoolers. With a little bit of peer pressure and trying to look

like a “cool kid,” I watched many of my good friends try the addictive device. Once they

tried the device, they wanted to keep trying it which was a serious problem, my friends

were always vaping at home, in their cars, and even at school. They depended on

vaping to cope with their issues. I want to educate and help my friends break free from

addiction, so I started to ask some questions like how safe is vaping? What parts of the

body are affected from vaping?

Since 1964, the use of tobacco and nicotine by teens had been decreasing, but

suddenly there was a change. The introduction of e-vapes and fruity vape flavors

caught the eyes of many teenagers causing a severe problem across the world. The

consumption of e-cigarettes and nicotine has grown nearly 9.1% among high school

students (CDC).
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Fig. 1. Chart showing the increase of vape use among high schoolers and middle

schoolers throughout the last decade (“Get the Latest Facts on Teen Tobacco Use”).

With vaping and the consumption of nicotine on the rise, how will it affect

teenagers’ bodies? Nicotine and vaping are harmful to a developing body of a teenager

and cause severe long-term effects to the brain, heart, and lungs.

Nicotine is located inside of tobacco plants. Nicotine is part of the nightshade

family, which consist of tomatoes, potatoes, green peppers, and many more. However,

the nicotine levels in those foods are far lower than nicotine found in tobacco plants.

Tobacco plants has been grown in America for over 2,000 years and was commonly

used as a medicine or stimulant (Felman). The consumption of nicotine became popular

during the Civil War all the way through World War 2. Soon after this, more research

came out about the dangers of smoking and how addictive it is. Eventually, advertising

cigarette smoking became banned and many anti-smoking movements popped up

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around the United States. As more people became educated on what smoking, and

nicotine did to the human body. The use of tobacco products was steadily declining.

Until e-vapes were introduced in 2006. These new devices did not attract a huge

audience of teenagers until 2015, when “JUUL” was released. The vape was designed

to aid preexisting cigarette users who wanted to quit. However, the e-vape appealed to

teenagers because of it is easy to use functions, slick design, and fruity flavors. The

vape was easy to keep discreet because it is small and can be carried in a pocket or in

a hand without being seen. In addition, the smell of a vape is difficult to determine. This

allowed for continuous use without teachers and parents realizing. Compared to regular

cigarettes, the smell is very identifiable and is difficult to hide. Some may ask how does

a JUUL Work? It is quite simple, the pods, which contain the juice and nicotine, are

inserted into the top of the JUUL. A light will come on and the device is ready to be

used.
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Fig. 2. A picture showing what a JUUL looks like, the long smooth black item. Then the

small rectangles with colored caps are the pods. They can be taken out and reinserted

back into the JUUL. In addition, the slick design, easy to hide, and desirable flavors are

all easy to see (David Pierce).

One a teenager is addicted to vaping and he or she will want to continue to use

it. Adam Felman, an editor for Medical News Today, writes about vaping increase

among teens. He found in one recent report that nearly 80% of 15–24-year old’s

admitted to vaping the in the last 30 days. He suggested that once a teenager tries the

addictive device, most likely they will want to try it again. To make matters worse, teens'

bodies are still developing, so there will be increased cases of higher heart rate,

damaged lungs, increased impulsivity, addiction, and increased mood swings like

depression among teenagers.

Nicotine causes teens' heart rates to be higher than those who do not use

nicotine products. This is because nicotine is a stimulant. Therefore, when nicotine is

absorbed through the lungs, or the mouth it causes many individuals to feel a “buzz” or

a kick of energy. The feeling of being “buzzed” is caused by nicotine stimulating the

adrenal glands. Which leads to a surge in adrenaline throughout the user’s body. One

organ that is put in danger is the heart. Blood pressure increases as well as heart rate,

putting a lot of stress on the heart. (Felman). The increase in heart rate and blood

pressure can lead to a higher chance of heart attacks or heart failure in the future.

Some could say that smoking nicotine-free vape juice would not damage teenagers'

hearts. However, vaping without nicotine still damages your heart. A recent study

demonstrated that the inhaling of nicotine free juice causes small damage to your
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vascular system, allowing for easier blood clots to form. Overall, Teenagers' bodies will

have harder times circulating blood through their body, furthermore, blood clots or heart

attacks could occur.

Nicotine rewires your brain reward system: dopamine. When a user inhales

aerosol they are inhaling nicotine; therefore, causing an increase of dopamine within the

user’s brain. Doing everyday activities like eating and working out also releases

dopamine. However, compared to inhaling nicotine the amount of dopamine released is

much higher and stays for longer periods of time in the body. There could be the

possibility of teens losing their excitement for activities that used to bring them joy. In

addition, nicotine will become a coping method. For example, if a teenager is stressed

out from school, they are more likely to vape, so they can “feel good” rather than do an

activity that relieves stress like working out. The “feel good” chemical is being re-wired

to vape so the user may feel happy. Teenagers will continue to vape because it feels

good. Over time increased levels of depression, mood disorders, and impulsivity will

occur because the brain is still developing.

Could the reason why so many teenagers are vaping be because of pre-existing

mental illnesses? Higher levels of stress and anxiety could be contributing to the use of

nicotine. Teenagers are self-medicating themselves thinking that vaping will help them

cope with their problems; however, it makes their problems worse. Teenagers will feel

more stressed, anxious, and sometimes depressed. In addition, nicotine damages

important brain functions in a developing brain. Teenagers' brains do not fully develop

until they are 24 years old. During this time of development multiple changes are being

made to the brain. When consuming nicotine these changes are disrupted. Steven R.
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Laviolette, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Drug Free Kids Canada, writes

about how nicotine effects the brain. He writes about how nicotine exposure to

developing brains can be detrimental to the frontal cortical inhibitory/excitatory balance.

This part of the brain will have reduced inhibitory response control, resulting in higher

anxiety levels and impulsivity. Since the brain is still developing during teenager years,

the effects of nicotine could make an ever-lasting effect on the teenagers brain

functions.

Vaping damages teenagers’ lungs. A few of conditions that could occur is

popcorn lung, shortness of breath, and acute pulmonary illness. Over time, vaping can

cause a lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans, which is commonly known as

popcorn lungs. The chemical causing the lung illness is known as diacetyl; it is found in

nearly every vape juice. Popcorn lung is when tiny air sacs within the lungs become

scared and constricted due to vaping. It is a scary and irreversible condition that results

in little to no oxygen flow in the lungs. Humans need to also exchange carbon dioxide

out of their lungs to live. With popcorn lung, that process cannot occur leading to

possible death (Guar). Teenagers will be left with lungs that are unable to be fixed and

they could even die in some cases. It is sad for teenagers who aspire to be an athlete in

college or beyond but are unable to they chose to vape. Unfortunately, there is no cure

for popcorn lung even if you receive a lung transplant because there is still a possibility

for popcorn lung to redevelop. Another lung disease teenagers may receive is

pulmonary illness. The symptoms are usually small raspatory problems that may include

shortness of breath, tightness or pain in the chest, or extreme coughing to the point of

coughing blood up (Cecchini).

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Vaping releases metal into the lungs because of the burning of the coil inside of

the vape, which is made of metal. Also, the solders within the vape juice contain metal.

When the heating process of the coil occurs, teenagers inhale smoke filled with metals

such as lead, nickel, and arsenic. It has been found that those who vape have more

deadly and toxic metals in their bodily fluids compared to those who smoke combustion

cigarettes. These types of metals such as arsenic, nickel, and copper can increase the

chance of having cancer. Even worse, the metals can directly damage the lung tissue.

These findings further prove that vaping is dangerous for teens and the consequences

of vaping on your lungs can be permanent.

There may be some people that say that vapes are safer options than traditional

cigarettes. Linda Bauld, a professor of health policy, argues this statement from above.

She says the absence of tobacco is what makes e-cigarettes less harmful than smoking

e-cigarettes. Chewing and smoking tobacco is extremely dangerous to the human body.

Combustion occurs when smoking regular cigarettes and when you remove the process

it makes e-cigarettes a lot safer than regular tobacco products. Bauld did mention that

e-cigarettes are still harmful, but they are a much safer alternative for those who are

looking to quit smoking. However, Matthew Fadus, a Psychiatrist from Massachusetts,

argues the opposite. He says teenagers who vape consistently will most likely smoke

cigarettes when they become older. Even worse, teenagers could be enticed to smoke

cannabis, since the devices used to smoke the drug are very similar. Both articles and

authors are credible, but each of the article's intended audience is different. Bauld’s

intended audience is for adults who are looking for a safer alternative than traditional
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cigarettes. While Fadus's intended audience is for teens and trying to keep them away

from the dangers of vaping and nicotine.

After I reviewed this interesting information regarding the effects of vaping and

nicotine on the human body. I was not satisfied enough; I wanted to know more. Many

should consider how teenagers are getting access to vapes? Many states have

attempted to make the purchasing of a vape harder for teenagers. For instance, Ohio

changed the age required to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 years old.

However, teens have found a way around the system. Many people that I know whom

vape have or knows someone who has a fake ID. Most teenagers I know will go to an

off-brand gas station and buy any vape they desire. Some teenagers will put vapes up

for sale on their Snapchat. Even the FDA tried to combat the purchasing of vapes by

telling certain vape companies like JUUL to stop selling flavored pods because it

appealed to teenagers.

Another thing that could contribute to teenagers getting involved with vapes is the

price. Many teenagers do not have a lot of money to spend on things like smoking.

When looking at the starting price for regular cigarettes it is around 6 dollars, but a

starter kit for e-cigarettes is around 25-40 dollars. Even though the starter kit is way

more expensive, teenagers are still going to end up saving money in the long term. It is

because buying the juice or pods have longer duration rather than regular cigarettes.

Teenagers would rather spend a little more money on vape juice rather than cigarettes.

This is because teenagers get at least 1000 puffs from vape juice while cigarettes only

get around 120 puffs from one pack.

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Fig. 3. Three separate charts displaying the cost differences between vapes and

cigarettes. The last chart on the right shows the cost of cigarettes after a year is nearly

three times more expensive than vapes (“Analyzing the Health Risks of Vaping”)

There is still hope for lowering addiction rates among teenagers, but first we must

educate them about the dangers of vaping and nicotine use. The huge misconception

many teenagers have is vaping is safe and it is not easy to be addicted to it. The

purpose of vaping was to aid past cigarette smokers who are looking for a safer

alternative, but teenagers are implying that vaping is safe. Once and teenager has

become addicted to vaping, it is extremely hard to quit. A friend of mine wanted to quit

vaping but was unable to. He did not think it was going to be a difficult process. He

would tell me that his cravings would get so bad that headaches would happen, or he

would even sweat. I would not want anyone to get stuck in the addiction trap my friend

went through.

If teenagers are trying to quit, they could use alternatives such as nicotine

patches or nicotine gum. Even though consumption of nicotine is not good for the brain
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or heart, at least they have lowered their risk of getting cancer or further lung damage.

This smoking epidemic must be stopped and the best way to lower teen vaping is with

educating and resisting to peer pressure. Teenagers want to look cool in front of others,

for instance, if everyone was vaping at a party then why should I not vape? Teenagers

want to fit in, and it is difficult for them to say no to peer pressure. Some solutions could

be teaching more in depth of the dangers of vaping within health classes. Continuing to

advertise that vaping is not good for human bodies.

E-vapes are still new and have little research about their dangers to those who

use them but vapes are clearly dangerous to bodies that are still developing. Heart rates

will increase to the point of heart attacks. Nicotine will re-wire teens’ brains and causes

teenagers to be nicotine dependent. Lastly, developing lungs could be permanently

damaged due to vaping. While smoking and consuming nicotine is a choice, why do

teenagers do it? The answer may be found in social pressures or increased stress

levels.
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Works Cited

“Analyzing the Health Risks of Vaping.” Calculators.org,

https://www.calculators.org/health/vaping-risks.php.

Bauld, Linda. “The Evidence Keeps Piling up: E-Cigarettes Are Definitely Safer than

Smoking.” The Guardian, 29 Dec. 2017. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/QGMLXV061977182/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=ea2b93e6.

Cecchini, Matthew J., et al. “E-Cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury:

A Review for Pathologists.” Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, vol.

144, no. 12, Dec. 2020, pp. 1490–1500. Academic Search Complete,

EBSCOhost, doi:10.5858/arpa.2020-0024-RA. Accessed 9 Apr. 2022.

Fadus, Matthew C., et al. “The Rise of e-Cigarettes, Pod Mod Devices, and JUUL

among Youth: Factors Influencing Use, Health Implications, and Downstream

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Search Complete, EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.04.011. Accessed

18 Mar. 2022.

Felman, Adam. “Nicotine: Facts, Effects, and Addiction.” Medical News Today,

MediLexicon International, 11 Jan. 2018,

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240820.

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Laviolette, Steven R. “Molecular and Neuronal Mechanisms Underlying the Effects of

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Pierce, David. “This Might Just Be the First Great e-Cig.” Wired, Conde Nast, 21 Apr.

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