The Alarming Rise of E-cigarette Use Among Youth

Bug Jones-Dingman grew up in a household where everyone smoked, so he started smoking at the age of 13 and thought it was normal. Two years later, when all of his friends started using e-cigarettes, Jones-Dingman also started vaping. Now 18 years old, Jones-Dingman says he has trouble breathing regularly and cannot breathe when he tries to run. He also suffers from what they call "popcorn lung," where he hears crackling in his lungs when he breathes.

I can only stay three days without smoking at most," said Jones-Dinman, who grew up in the Hawthorne community in Baltimore County and now lives in Virginia. His story is very common.

According to a Maryland youth risk behavior survey, although there are far fewer young people smoking today than a few years ago, the number of middle and high school students using e-cigarettes in Baltimore County is skyrocketing with no signs of slowing down. In 2018, 23.9% of students had used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, while only 4.2% had smoked traditional cigarettes during that same time frame.

The two main influences of teen smoking and vaping are family and friends, according to Kenneshia Williams, research manager for the health communication team at the Truth Initiative, a nonprofit public health organization dedicated to ending tobacco use. "Usually it's peers," Williams said. "Research on adolescence shows that peers are one of the major influencing factors during that time, so we often see it's peers.

Various factors contribute to each teenager's ultimate decision to start smoking or vaping. Dina Lansey, Deputy Director of Community Outreach and Engagement at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says education is key. Individuals with higher education levels are more likely to earn higher incomes, have better healthcare access, understand the dangers of smoking, and live in communities with fewer tobacco advertisements.

Bug Jones-Dingman, an 18-year-old from Virginia, started smoking at the age of 13 and switched to vaping two years later. Jones-Dingman now experiences difficulty breathing and admits to unsuccessful attempts at quitting. (Photo provided by Bug Jones-Dingman)

An 18-year-old from Virginia named Bug Jones-Dingman has been smoking since the age of 13 and began using electronic cigarettes two years later. Jones-Dingman now suffers from difficulty breathing and despite attempting to quit, has been unable to do so.

Informatics can help you understand what changing risk means," said Lancy. "As education levels increase, smoking rates decrease, and the percentage of alcohol abuse is decreasing. This combined with your place of residence and your education provide you with the ability to make informed decisions about your health risks.

Having a solid education foundation can enable people, young and old, to understand the true dangers of nicotine products. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, smoking can damage almost every organ in the body, and smokers are much more likely to suffer from heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke.

Many people view e-cigarettes as a "safe" alternative to cigarette smoke, but the CDC has issued a warning that the nicotine in e-cigarettes can also harm young people. Nicotine can damage the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, emotions, and impulse control. According to the CDC, because nicotine is highly addictive, if teenagers do not use e-cigarettes, they will quickly develop various withdrawal symptoms.

Alexis McKinney, a high school student in Baltimore County, witnessed firsthand the effects of tobacco products on her classmates. She saw too many students experience a rollercoaster of emotions, from highs of buzz to lows of withdrawal. This led to many of them struggling with their grades and even dropping out of school.

I think it has a big impact on our generation because, like, our generation is a group of addicts," she said.

Giana Darville, the liaison for the Truth Initiative Youth Advisory Committee, says that data consistently shows that Mackenzie sees things on a daily basis among her peers. "Especially with many young people using e-cigarettes, as it's supposed to be one of the things that can help with your mental health, but in reality, it actually makes you feel worse," she said.

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