Nicotine
Teen vaping has increased significantly in the past couple of years. According to the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey, there was a 78% increase amongst high schoolers and a 48% increase amongst middle schoolers who used e-cigarettes. These rates accounted for 1.5 million more students using e-cigarettes in 2018 than in 2017.
In fact, rates have risen so much and so quickly that in December 2018, the U.S. Surgeon General declared teen vaping an epidemic.
Most teenagers have been warned about the dangers of cigarettes since they were children, but they have not been warned about vaping. Vaping is marketed as a “safe, trendy” alternative to smoking cigarettes. Teens see their peers vaping and want to fit in. And because they don’t see the negative consequences right away or realize the addictive nature of nicotine liquid, they continue to vape, not realizing the negative effects until they are already hooked.