Vaping Death Toll Rises

As each day goes by, the number of people who are sick or have died from vaping increases.

Many people may wonder how it came to be such an issue with younger people. “Someone told me that it’d help with anxiety, and I started with cigarettes,” said an anonymous source who has quit vaping.

The leader of Vermont Teen Leadership Safety Program (VTLSP), Annie Luke said she believed that the appeal with the younger generation was the flavors, the “cool” technology put into them, and a bit of peer pressure.

The anonymous source said they continued vaping because they had people around them who were doing it, and because it “tasted good, so I thought it was better than cigarettes.” That supports the theory that kids are only doing it because of peer pressure.

“I think some are truly addicted, and those who haven’t asked for help are stuck. Because of their friends and social lives it’s probably making it hard for them to quit,” Annie Luke said.

An article by Rolling Stone posted on October 11th, 2019 talked about how patients in more than two dozen states are in the hospital with symptoms of coughing, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Some are even reporting nausea, vomiting, and fevers. A doctor said that she does not see the epidemic slowing down.

On September 25th, Massachusetts became the first state to do a statewide ban on the sale and usage of vapes and vaping products for four months because it is a “public health emergency.”

“I think anything helps honestly, but if they only do it for four months, I don’t think it’ll help in the long run. I think Vermont made a good impact when they banned internet sales and increased the age to 21,” Annie said.

“A small study published in 2016, reports that nicotine-containing vaping products trigger lung inflammation and lung tissue damage. COPD development is associated with these effects,” Medical News Today published on May 29th, 2018.

The caption of a story from the New York Times stated, “Vaping illnesses climb upward, nearing 1,300 with 29 deaths.” Posted on October 10th, 2019. Another article stated that quitting vaping may be harder than quitting cigarettes.

The anonymous interviewee said they quit “Because it wasn’t helping me like I thought it would, and people around me wanted me to be healthier so I quit. I think I’m doing better.” They added that they didn’t notice any health changes while vaping, just that it made them calm down a little.

“I think there’s still kids who think it’s not harmful. Kids who think it’s vaping flavored water. More kids are realizing they can be addicted to nicotine. More kids (are) seeing me, thinking they’re addicted,” Annie said.

Rachel Eggum, one of the nurses at WUHSMS, said she believes the appeals are that it’s easily accessible, advertisements seem to target the younger population, and that they’re just now uncovering damages that can be caused by vaping.

Rachel said some of the appeals are the addiction to nicotine, you can use it inside, and peer pressure. She thinks that people do see an issue with vaping, but they are in denial that they are or could be addicted.

The anonymous source also said that there are some moments where they’re happy they quit, but also some moments where they wish they still vaped. They said it was hard to quit at first, but they did. They added that sometimes it can still be hard.

They gave some advice to some people who might be trying to quit, to chew gum and just try and distract yourself. They said that if they didn’t quit, they thought they “would be in the same spot with a little less money.”

“People aren’t (quitting) because they see it as better than smoking cigarettes, because they see the fact that cigarettes have killed more people than vaping,” said the anonymous source.

VTLSP is trying to deter vaping and encourage healthy choices, as was highlighted in this weeks “Red Ribbon” events.