Vaping

Children will be children and unfortunately sometimes they do not make the right decisions in life and they have to learn from those mistakes. I know as a parent, we have to reflect back and look at all the stuff that was good and bad that we did. One is permitted to make mistakes as long as you learn from those mistakes. There will always be items out there that if you take it will make you feel good but too much of it and it could be bad. This means your body gets so used to things that you may need more of it. Items from your local street pharmacists have also been around but newer and "better" products keep hitting the streets which could be putting our kids in danger. We all know opiod abuse and overdose became a pandemic in 2018 and is the top 5 killers in the US amongst the population. Since we have been fighting to reduce the use of tobacco products like cigarrettes, manufactures have decided to create newer things that will get you hooked. People from my time period remember the Malboro Man and Joe Camel as marketing items but they were enticing our youth to use their products with rewarding them for their purchases by giving jackets and other cool gear. Since cigarrettes were bad, let's create a product which can be used not only indoors and outdoors and add flavors to them with small traces of nicotine to get them hooked! That was how ecigarrettes and vapes began. Even though you have to be 21 to legally by tobacco products, kids are finding ways to get them. Some as young as in middle school and at times even in elementary school. Even though according to school admins, they know it is a problem but according to them, it is only a small percentage of students that are doing it! So how do they acquire these items? Usually on the down low like they meet their "friends" in the bathroom and place their order. Another way is by ordering it online through websites that pose as clothes sales or other things. Ytz mystery boxes, shirts, shoes, etc. to make it even better, so these kids that place the order using gift cards, will have their packages sent to a friends house! So as a parent, what do we do? We need to talk to them and let them know the dangers of these items! In addition to having nicotine and water, we do not know what other chemicals are in it to include a varying amount of those products. These items can cause extra harm to the young lungs in addition for it to become addicting! Studies also say they are a gateway for the use of other drugs. Stay safe everyone.