Four Things To Know As Popularity Increases With E-Cigs
By Christina Matthews, Special To PubClub
Since the first wave of popularity of electronic cigarettes in the 60s of the previous century, the diversity of e-cigs has grown to new heights.
Now there exist different kinds of e-cigs and vaporizers, among which especially popular are a mechanical mod, wax vape, vape pen, and dab pen. Young people use those the most. The thing is that youth often wants to get more attention, fame, and excitement from the equals in age. The devices, which were aimed to help to quit smoking, are used just for fun now.
Vaping is one of the ways to gain popularity. Girls like watching photos of brutal guys with vapes. Men consider women with seductive haze on their photo to be incredibly sexy, especially if supplemented with red lipstick and luring sight. This effect takes place because of corresponding advertising campaigns. Sex is seen as a means of advertising. This works, and people buy it.
However, we still have the question, why is is to popular among young people who attend a college (or university)?
The answer seems to be at the surface.
People of their age are prone to the influence of advertising and on the minds of their colleagues. Statistics (from the study of teenage use of illicit substances in the United States) showed that the number of high school students, who use e-cigs, which contain nicotine doubled in 2018. The government conducted the same survey several months before and the results almost matched. The last time scientists noticed a similar increase was in the 1970s when students tended to smoke marijuana because of popular liberal ideas among young people.
Modern surveys also showed that the number of children vaping is increasing now. This questions the legality of sales of such products and the ability of police to control the illegal spread of nicotine-containing substances and illicit substances, such as cannabis. How can we know if our child uses nicotine-free liquid for his/her dab vape pen? Researchers say that some adults cannot distinguish wax pens from VapeRevs from some other electronic devices. This is the problem. When today’s adults were teens, there were no vapes generally accessible.
What are the main reasons for young people to vape?
If we compare school and college students, the reasons of vaping are a bit different. Schoolchildren like it, because it is stylish, has different ‘fairy’ flavors and some parents do not object to using nicotine-free vapes. College students’ main motivation, though, is to increase their popularity.
The thing is that vaping, anyway, associated with smoking and something forbidden. This haze of adulthood and illusion of the absence of red lines makes students more confident with a dab vape pen in their hand. Most young people think that unhealthy lifestyle makes them more popular, because of a stereotype of a ‘bad guy.’ However, it is a pleasure for me to note that recent years may be characterized by a surge of interest to a healthy lifestyle, eutrophy and engaging in sports activities. Therefore, not to allow the decrease in popularity of vapes, the manufacturers try to show vapes as a healthy alternative to regular cigarettes.
In their research “Use and Perception of Electronic Cigarettes Among College Students” Craig W. Trumbo and Raquel Harper measured behavioral intention to vape, orienting on the questions:
“How likely do you think it is that you would use an e-cigarette in the not-too-distant future, say in the next six months?”
“Do you agree or disagree that use of e-cigarettes should be legal for adults, e-cigarettes are a big step forward, and believe that e-cigarettes are a more modern way of using tobacco?”
“Would it be acceptable to your closest friends and family members if you used e-cigarettes?”
The study showed that the perception of vapes as a healthier alternative to regular cigarettes also influenced the decision on youth to vape. Many of them said that their friends and family would accept them smoking because they consider it to be healthier than cigs and to have a less second-hand effect. They also believe that vape cannot cause addiction and this is easier to quit vaping than to stop smoking.
Some of these beliefs, though, are untrue. Some are unstudied. The problem of such popularity of vaping among college students also rises because of lack of information about possible damages and threats.
Can this lead to drug abuse in the future?
The positive results of the survey also are that more and more teens are refusing to use illicit substances, such as LSD, marijuana, alcohol, ecstasy, etc. Doctor Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is surprised that at the time when the majority of adults have tried some opioids at least once, teens usually refuse taking drugs.
The most straightforward answer to this question is that teens see the consequences of drug abuse and do not want to repeat the history of their parents. Also, with the development of technologies, they can communicate with each other via electronic devices, and this increases the number of teen groups, who gather to get high or, to put it simply, to use drugs.
Vaping is a great substitution because people can vape with their friends while in a face-to-face meeting, can gather in special vape cafes and choose the best complements for their wax vape pen together. Vaping is not just a habit for them. It is a hobby, a means of getting new friends and popularity. To check it just search photos with a hashtag ‘vape’ on the Instagram. Compare it to the number of pictures with, for example, ‘book’ hashtag.
What actions does the society to take to prevent youth from possible addition?
The FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration) ordered online retailers not to continue merchandising even the best wax pen, because of the problem of vaping addiction among youth. Juul devices called new wave of vaping. The FDA also tries to regulate all these ‘kid-friendly’ flavors of e liquids. It issued a ban on selling those e flavors, which smell like fruits, candies to counter a surge in the use of e-cigs by young people.
In the public health community, experts are still discussing the question of vapes. Some see this as a valid method to give up smoking and improve health condition. The other, though, is concerned with the fact that more and more college students use vaping devices, which inflict damage to their mental and physical health.
About the author: Christina Matthews, the journalist who studies the latest news in the health industry. Now she studies the effects of smoking and vaping on health and reasons of such its popularity.
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