Hawaii Youth Vaping is at Epidemic Levels
In Hawaii, vaping is addicting a new generation of youth to nicotine. While often marketed as healthier alternatives to cigarettes, e-cigarettes, also known as vapes and electronic smoking devices, are not healthy options and are considered tobacco products because they contain nicotine.[1] Almost one in three high school students in Hawaii regularly vape.[2] Youth who use e-cigarettes are four times more likely to try regular cigarettes, and three times more likely to become cigarette smokers.[3] Some vape products claim they have 0% nicotine or do not have nicotine labels, but they were found to still contain nicotine.[4] In 2015, JUUL revolutionized the vape industry with nicotine salts and released an e-cigarette that became extremely popular with youth, that contained more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes. Today the amount of nicotine in vapes is staggering. Some of the latest brands advertise a 3,000 puff device which contains as much nicotine as 363 cigarettes while other recent brands promote a 5,000 puffs device having almost enough nicotine as 30 packs, or 590 cigarettes.
Vaping May Increase Risk of Breathing Problems
Vaping can cause lung damage in youth and young adults. Researchers have found that flavoring additives and chemicals in e-cigarettes may cause lung damage and respiratory disease, especially with people who have asthma. [5] Asthma is a lung disease that makes it hard to breath and can cause wheezing, throat tightness, and coughing. [6] Recent studies show that young people who use e-cigarettes or vape have more breathing problems, like shortness of breath, compared to those who don’t use e-cigarettes.
Vaping can also hurt young athletes through short-term and long-term effects. If you smoke, less oxygen gets in your heart, lungs, and muscles. Less oxygen in your body means you can’t run as fast, as long, or as far. This lowers your physical fitness level, endurance, causes you to have a longer recovery time, and have less strength and flexibility. [7] Both vaping and smoking cause you to inhale a lot of chemicals and, just like inhaling cigarette smoke, vaping can affect athletic performance by causing you to cough or have chest pain or tightness.
Vaping is Addictive and Dangerous
Nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Nicotine can harm brain development and may have long-term consequences including reduced impulse control, difficulty with attention and memory, mood disorders, and vulnerability to addictions. The aerosol from e-cigarettes is not water vapor, and may contain ultrafine particles of heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals that can lodge in the lungs. Vaping is known to cause seizures and breathing difficulties, and evidence is growing about the health risks, especially for children and youth. Larger e-cigarettes including “tanks” and “mods” create larger plumes and rely on higher heat, which increases risks for fires and explosions.
E-cigarettes and vapes come in candy and fruit flavors that introduce youth to nicotine and keep them returning. Vaping in schools and classrooms is commonplace, even in elementary schools. Companies have aggressively marketed to youth using social media and enticing flavors. While the legal minimum age for purchasing tobacco products in Hawaii is 21, some teens are circumventing age verification by purchasing e-cigarettes online and then both using and reselling the products. Only 5 percent of Hawaii youth who vape reported purchasing e-cigarettes from stores, most obtained them from friends or on the Internet.[8]
Don’t be Fooled
E-cigarettes come in many shapes and sizes that may be difficult to recognize. Smaller pod-based e-cigarettes look like USB sticks or hot spots and can be charged using a laptop. These devices are popular with middle and high school students because they are easy to conceal, feel hi-tech, have appealing flavors, and are affordable. Teachers and parents may detect a sweet odor when a youth takes a puff.
Advice for Talking to Youth Who Vape
This is an important time to talk to youth about the risks of vaping. Here are some tips.
- Be patient and ready to listen, avoid criticism and lecturing.
- Encourage an open dialogue with youth by discussing things that are going on in their lives.
- Don’t be direct or confrontational. Instead of asking, “Are you vaping?” or “Do you use e-cigarettes?”, ask them what they know about vaping, if they see vaping in school or among their friends. Ask them what they are hearing in the news and if they are concerned about health problems from vaping and nicotine.
- If you find out that they are vaping, stay calm. If you become upset, it is unlikely that they will continue confiding in you.
- Learn more about vaping by talking with other parents, educators and medical professionals or from the resources listed below.
Know a Teen Who Needs Help Quitting?
My Life My QuitTM provides vaping cessation services for youth. Visit MyLifeMyQuit.com, call 1-855-891-9989, or text “Start My Quit” to 36072.
My Life, My Quit Promotional Resources
For Schools: Teen Audience – Get the Support You Need to Stop Vaping poster, 8″ x 11″ (PDF)
For Schools: Teen Audience – Get the Support You Need to Stop Vaping poster, 11″ x 17″ (PDF)
Teen Posters
Ready to Quit Vaping Poster 1 (JPG)
Ready to Quit Vaping Poster 2 (JPG)
Hawaii State Department of Health Resources
Hawaii Vaping Resource Guide for Educators (PDF)
Hawaii Vaping Resource Guide for Parents (PDF)
Escape the Vape: Get the Facts About Vaping Classroom Poster (PDF)
Learn how nicotine affects the brain and how My Life, My Quit can help youth quit vaping.
Additional Resources
Websites
- Surgeon General’s Report on E-cigarettes
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Truth Initiative
- 808 No Vape
Informative Brochures and Posters
- Download the Hawaii No Vape campaign poster
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Surgeon General
E-Cigarette Curricula
- Scholastic: The Real Cost of Vaping
- Coordinated Approach to Child Health: CATCH My Breath E-Cigarette Prevention
- Stanford Tobacco Prevention Toolkit
[1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2016. https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/documents/2016_SGR_Full_Report_non-508.pdf
[2] Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
[3] Berry KM, Fetterman JL, Benjamin EJ, et al, Association of Electronic Cigarette Use With Subsequent Initiation of Tobacco Cigarettes in US Youths. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(2):e187794. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.7794.
[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, November 2). Quick facts on the risks of e-cigarettes for kids, teens, and young adults. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html#:~:text=Some%20vape%20product%20labels%20do%20not%20disclose%20that,The%20brain%20keeps%20developing%20until%20about%20age%2025.
[5] Chatziparasidis G, Kantar A. Vaping in Asthmatic Adolescents: Time to Deal with the Elephant in the Room. Children (Basel). 2022 Feb 24;9(3):311. doi: 10.3390/children9030311. PMID: 35327682; PMCID: PMC8947668.
[6] Asthma. Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/asthma
[7] Cleveland Clinic. (2023, November 27). Is vaping as bad for your physical performance as smoking cigarettes? https://health.clevelandclinic.org/does-vaping-decrease-athletic-performance
[8] Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm