English Teacher’s Input on Teen Vaping

High schoolers aren’t the only ones familiar with teen vaping,  teachers are also well aware of the problem. SBHS teacher, Marie Curr, doesn’t vape herself, but she’s concerned that any one of her students could be vaping, without necessarily knowing the effects it can have on them.

The first vaping product was created in 2003 by a pharmacist, inventor and smoker, named Hon Lik, who worked for the company ‘Golden Dragon Holdings’. In 2010, vaping became more popular, and was further introduced in the U.S. by 2006. 

“I think more should be done in schools to educate kids about vaping, opposed to just banning it,” said Curr. 

The company Lik worked for, stated that the intentions for vapes were invented by people who wanted to stop smoking and to have fewer smokers buy cigarettes, but as it became a more popular product, more people, especially teens in high school, began to gain an interest in it.

According to the CDC, around 11.3% of high school students were reported to be vaping in 2021. Among those students, 43.6% were reported to be vaping daily.

Knowing that teens vape during school hours, educating them can ensure that they know the consequences and know what they’re getting themselves into.

“I think for the intended use it was a really good product, but I think that with lack of education and lack of knowledge about how safe it is, it started to drift away from that original purpose,” said Curr.

According to BMC Public Health, the most common reasons for vaping were to reduce smoking. 78% enjoy the flavors of vaping, 73%  vape where smoking is not allowed. 69% do it for the perceptions of less harm to others and 65% are self aware of the effects.

“I feel like educating yourself and making sure you know the repercussions that come with vaping, and trying to not become addicted to it, can confirm whether or not you should vape or not,” said Curr.