Parents of teens...is vaping common in your community? (Inspired by pot thread)

[NotUrsula]

The FDA recently closed the disposable flavored-vape loophole, but unscrupulous vendors now figure the fines are just part of the cost of doing business. My state is considering making vape products Rx-only, so as to preserve them for folks who want to stop smoking conventional tobacco products. (Anything plant matter that actually burns puts tar in the lungs, and properly-made vape products do not do that, but they have other associated health risks. I think regulated US-made vape products are still a good alternative to actual cigarettes if you can't break the habit, but they should be a therapeutic device and medically supervised.)

The biggest problem I see with the vape industry right now is that regulation wasn't approached well, for all that legislators had good intentions. Anyone who has ever dealt with chemical purity standards in imported products knows that China simply doesn't enforce such standards at all, and the vacuum caused by the sudden banning of US-made flavored vape products caused Chinese companies to flood the US market with disposables. Those things contain only God knows what. (I'm not saying that flavored vapes should not have been banned; I'm saying that implementation was poorly planned and full of loopholes. Congress and the FDA failed to coordinate properly with Customs & Enforcement, and that meant that their actions mostly amounted to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.)

DD saw pervasive vaping when she was in public middle school, but she's now in a private all-girls HS where the staff is much more vigilant, and the kids have mostly given up trying to use these devices in the school and on school grounds. I do see them in cars, though. (DD and her friends are all athletes in a year-round training situation and won't vape for that reason.)

 

[MrsPete]

In our area it's not a big problem ... so you don't actually SEE it anywhere public ...

Respectfully, just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not happening. I find it hard to believe that teens in your area aren't teens /aren't susceptible to the same temptations as those in other areas.

Yes. Cigarettes and coffee have been replaced with vape and energy drinks. The marketing geniuses have done a great job of creating revenue generating addiction in teens.

Iced coffee drinks are still going strong around here. Mainly an upper-class girl thing (that is, those who can afford the $$ drinks and have a car of their own so they have the freedom to go through drive-throughs on the way to school).

This is so troubling.
Wasn't the vape pen supposed to help smokers quit?

That IS how they were originally marketed, but they brought in new users who had not previously been smokers. Kids seem to think vaping is "safer" than cigarettes.

I read the other day that the Highlighter vapes
contain as much nicotine as FORTY cigarettes!
No wonder kids can't just quit them.

OUCH.

Bottom line - don’t allow your kids to do it if you can help it!

I don't think anyone allows their kids to vape, but you're right: Every parent should work against this awful trend.

 

[magik]

I work in a middle school, and yes, it’s a big problem. Vaping and THC gummies. Vapes can look like a USB thumb drive and the gummies can look like normal candy. Staff at my school all had to take a training last year about what these things look like, what behaviors to be in the lookout for that could be a sign a kid is high, what backpacks are specifically designed with pockets to hide drugs and hide weed smell (Cookies brand….easily available at the mall). It was eye opening. I feel like vaping at school, though certainly a problem, is not as big of a problem as it was for a couple years pre-Covid. Pre-Covid we had students blatantly vaping in class and the locker area and the bathroom. Now it’s generally just kids sneaking to do it in the bathroom. The problem isn’t helped when the school reports it to the parents and the parents don’t believe their child would do such a thing.

My school had vape detectors installed in all the bathrooms over the summer to pilot them before installing in other schools in the county, but they haven’t been turned on yet, so no idea how or even if they work.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Connecticut here. According to my kids, there’s quite a bit of bathroom vaping in the high school. Although there’s probably some in middle, it’s not prominent (also my middle kid can be oblivious sometimes). Have not heard of any at the elementary level.

I, on the other hand, had a full-on smoking section for students when I was in high school. My mom signed permission for me to smoke because that was the only way to use the courtyard off the cafeteria on a nice day. I was NOT a smoker, but wanted to go outside. It’s kind of wild to think about it now, but in our defense, the bathrooms were really clean and never smelled of smoke.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Connecticut here. According to my kids, there’s quite a bit of bathroom vaping in the high school. Although there’s probably some in middle, it’s not prominent (also my middle kid can be oblivious sometimes). Have not heard of any at the elementary level.

I, on the other hand, had a full-on smoking section for students when I was in high school. My mom signed permission for me to smoke because that was the only way to use the courtyard off the cafeteria on a nice day. I was NOT a smoker, but wanted to go outside. It’s kind of wild to think about it now, but in our defense, the bathrooms were really clean and never smelled of smoke.

You know it's funny that you mention your high school experience as my all-boys prep school that I attended in Detroit had a smoking lounge back in the 70's and was restricted to seniors only. But even when I went there in the 90's, a very large percentage of the students and faculty (many of whom were Jesuit priests) were smokers.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I, on the other hand, had a full-on smoking section for students when I was in high school. My mom signed permission for me to smoke because that was the only way to use the courtyard off the cafeteria on a nice day. I was NOT a smoker, but wanted to go outside. It’s kind of wild to think about it now, but in our defense, the bathrooms were really clean and never smelled of smoke.

When I was 18, I did a summer exchange program in Germany where I attended a German high school and they had a smoking section in the school too. I thought it was extremely bizarre. The majority of kids smoked and I actually tried a cigarette for the first time while I was there. I immediately spat it out and said, nope. Never again.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I think the whole FDA business only serves to confuse people.

Most assume that if something is FDA approved, it’s safe to use. In the case of e-cigarettes, FDA approval means they’re approved to be marketed in the US, not necessarily that the contents are safe to use. (Which seems ridiculous.)

From the FDA website:

Fact: E-cigarette aerosol can contain harmful chemicals. ​

More Information: E-cigarette aerosol (sometimes called “vapor”) is not just water vapor. It can contain harmful chemicals, including acrolein and acetaldehyde, which can damage your lungs.

Bottom Line: The fact that FDA regulates tobacco products does not mean they are safe to use. There are no safe tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and other types of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).

Additionally, there is still conflicting information out there from medical sources about e-cigarette use. We better get it together soon!

https://www.cancer.net/navigating-c...e-cigarettes-smokeless-tobacco-and-waterpipes

https://no-smoke.org/despite-fda-decision-vaping-is-still-not-safe/

 

[Lord Manhammer]

When I was 18, I did a summer exchange program in Germany where I attended a German high school and they had a smoking section in the school too. I thought it was extremely bizarre. The majority of kids smoked and I actually tried a cigarette for the first time while I was there. I immediately spat it out and said, nope. Never again.

Many of the European airports also have smoking sections and the one in Krakow Poland has a smoking lounge and a vaping lounge! Ironically, Schiphol airport in Amsterdam does NOT have a smoking section however any airport employee will tell you how to get to the nearest "coffee shop."

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I don't think anyone allows their kids to vape, but you're right: Every parent should work against this awful trend.

I think there probably are people who allow their kids to vape. It was marketed as safe, and much of the info out there, still, is confusing to the general public.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Many of the European airports also have smoking sections and the one in Krakow Poland has a smoking lounge and a vaping lounge! Ironically, Schiphol airport in Amsterdam does NOT have a smoking section however any airport employee will tell you how to get to the nearest "coffee shop."

I also remember seeing vending machines selling cigarettes while in Germany. The only people I ever saw using it were teenagers.

On that same summer exchange program, I had 16 year olds begging me to buy them vodka and I'm like, yeah no thanks. Not getting in trouble in a foreign country for giving minors alcohol.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

I also remember seeing vending machines selling cigarettes while in Germany. The only people I ever saw using it were teenagers.

On that same summer exchange program, I had 16 year olds begging me to buy them vodka and I'm like, yeah no thanks. Not getting in trouble in a foreign country for giving minors alcohol.

Yep the vending machines are still there in several countries. Sixteen year olds asking to buy vodka? That's weird, the drinking age in Germany is 16 (although maybe it was higher then). The other interesting thing is how cheap alcohol is in many EU countries compared to the US. In Poland, vodka is almost as a cheap as a Coca Cola.

 

[SteveH]

Having talked with a Middle School SRO (School Recourse Officer) if you believe its not happening you are fooling yourself. As parents I encourage you to contact your local PD and/or school and learn about vaping and teens. You need to know that something as simple as a Yellow Highlghter can be a hidden vap pen. Do you know what blinking is? If not you need to learn.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Yep the vending machines are still there in several countries. Sixteen year olds asking to buy vodka? That's weird, the drinking age in Germany is 16 (although maybe it was higher then). The other interesting thing is how cheap alcohol is in many EU countries compared to the US. In Poland, vodka is almost as a cheap as a Coca Cola.

16 for beer/wine and 18 for hard liquor like vodka.

Yup, noticed that too. Hard liquor was almost the same price as water in Bulgaria. Meanwhile in the US, I'm always taken aback at how expensive cigarettes are.

 

[ClapYourHands]

You know it's funny that you mention your high school experience as my all-boys prep school that I attended in Detroit had a smoking lounge back in the 70's and was restricted to seniors only. But even when I went there in the 90's, a very large percentage of the students and faculty (many of whom were Jesuit priests) were smokers.

The teacher lounge obviously allowed smoking back in the day, too. Because it was near the auditorium, it was often used as a green room and dressing room during plays. And let me tell you, it absolutely reeked of cigarettes. It was a rather small school, so it’s not like there was a nonsmoking lounge for the faculty who cared about their lungs. Even then I thought it was odd that the students could all eat their lunch without secondhand smoke (cafeteria was non smoking), but the teachers couldn’t.

But that was back in the 90s when the expectation was that people around you would smoke and you just had to deal with it. Remember smoking sections in restaurants? As if the smoke would magically stop at the last booth of tat section. I remember the first time I went to CA and walked into a restaurant and requested then nonsmoking section, and the hostess basically laughed at me (nicely) for thinking anyone could smoke in restaurants there. It was so nice!

Now I almost never smell cigarettes, but often smell the lingering funk of weed. I wonder if those smokers even know how pungent the smell emanating from their clothes is.

 

[monsterkitty]

Having talked with a Middle School SRO (School Recourse Officer) if you believe its not happening you are fooling yourself. As parents I encourage you to contact your local PD and/or school and learn about vaping and teens. You need to know that something as simple as a Yellow Highlghter can be a hidden vap pen. Do you know what blinking is? If not you need to learn.

100% this.

Students are not only vaping in bathrooms but in classrooms and busses as well. It is difficult to catch because the vape pens can be disguised as any object needed in a classroom and sometimes there isn't a lot of aerosol mist expelled from the pen. If the child is using the vape pen disguised as a straw in a water bottle, the mist may be going directly into the bottle instead of the air.

Every middle and high school has a vape problem. The school just may not recognize the problem or they may have their heads in the sand.

 

[DLgal]

Respectfully, just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not happening. I find it hard to believe that teens in your area aren't teens /aren't susceptible to the same temptations as those in other areas.

I didn't say it wasn't happening. I said it was not common and not a problem. That's what you asked.

It's not a big PROBLEM in our schools and it's not COMMON in our city, at least among teens.

 

[MrsPete]

what backpacks are specifically designed with pockets to hide drugs and hide weed smell (Cookies brand….easily available at the mall).

Oh, I forgot about the Cookies backpacks. Look them up on Amazon; they contain a hidden smell-proof pocket

I didn't say it wasn't happening. I said it was not common and not a problem. That's what you asked.

It's not a big PROBLEM in our schools and it's not COMMON in our city, at least among teens.

Respectfully, you have your head in the sand. Your city is not immune from this scurge.

 

[DLgal]

Respectfully, you have your head in the sand. Your city is not immune from this scurge.

Respectfully, I live here and you don't. And I have teen boys. I honestly don't care what other teens are doing. Mine are in no way involved in smoking, vaping, drug or alcohol use. Nor are their friends. And I am 100% certain about that.

 

[mom2rtk]

Respectfully, I live here and you don't. And I have teen boys. I honestly don't care what other teens are doing. Mine are in no way involved in smoking, vaping, drug or alcohol use. Nor are their friends. And I am 100% certain about that.

If you don't care what other teens are doing, then you probably don't know what other teens are doing.

 

[DLgal]

If you don't care what other teens are doing, then you probably don't know what other teens are doing.

Nice try. Why can't people admit that this is simply NOT a "problem" everywhere?

Again, I never said no teens vape here. I said it's not a PROBLEM. My kids go to a high school with 2600 students. One of 5 such sized high schools in our city. The bathrooms don't need to be locked. The campuses are outside. There is ample security and teacher presence. The student culture is good. Kids here generally are high achievers and follow rules. They aren't out smoking and vaping in public.

Maybe they are secretly doing it at home, but again, how does that make it a problem in the community?

The biggest scourge in our community regarding teens is e bike use without helmets.