The story begins with the first known instance of smoking tobacco - sometime around 5000 BCE in religious ceremonies of indigenous Americans. Others argue that the practice of chewing and smoking the plant did not begin until about 2,000 years ago. Nonetheless, the tobacco plant has been growing indigenously in the Americas for thousands of years. The practice of what people have now abbreviated to simply “smoking” has clearly had a long history since; 1531 saw European settlers first cultivate tobacco, by the 1600s the practice had reached such levels that tobacco itself was considered a tradable commodity, a money standard. And by the 1700s the practice of growing and smoking tobacco had all but become a flourishing industry of its own.
Since then, the industry has expanded and grown far more than most could have anticipated. Although smoking was linked to illness as early as 1602 in Worke of Chimney Sweepers, smoking continued. As most know, the practice was indeed touted for its health benefits by most physicians in the 20th century. The distribution of free cigarettes to troops during WWII to “boost morale” certainly did not harm the industry. However, since then a rapid increase in public knowledge regarding tobacco and its health side effects has led to a precipitous decline in popularity. There is now a greater beast on the horizon.
The vape pen. Initially a way for people who were addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes to wean off of the drug, the vape pen has rapidly evolved to target new audiences. Officially known as “pod mods” but perhaps more commercially recognizable by the company name Juul - which has been the most successful, and the most scrutinized, in the business - the new method of obtaining nicotine has bloomed in recent years. The pod mods are indiscrete and can be used to inhale either nicotine or marijuana. Adolescent vaping has seen a particular spike - one that is worrisome to most adults given the developmental state of young brains. Concern over the health impacts of vaping have led to various reforms.
In Colorado alone, seven people have already been diagnosed with a severe illness related to vaping; four of them have been hospitalized because of it. Nationwide, the numbers on September 20th were up to 530 sick and seven dead with no signs of the epidemic slowing. On September 18th, the number of vaping associated pulmonary illnesses was 380. Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, and Aspen have already banned flavored vaping products as a means of combating teen use. Several cities have also raised the age minimum for purchasing vaping products. Juul and other vaping companies have been particularly criticized for their flavors because, some claim, it makes the product more appealing to younger demographics. President Trump himself has issued a statement calling for a ban on flavored products nationally.
Chronic exposure to nicotine has disparate, life-long effects on the teenage brain. A study conducted by Yuan Menglu at the University of California Irvine illustrated how the restructuring of the brain during adolescence marks a vulnerable period in its development. In fact, the nicotine can cause a downregulation of certain genes and thus foster addiction more readily than in adults. This exposure to nicotine while the brain’s chemicals are in the process of re equilibrating themselves is especially dangerous to serotonin pathways and sensitivity to the natural neurotransmitter. Moreover, Menglu found that adolescent, “but not post-adolescent, treatment with nicotine has been shown to result in diminished cognitive function as adults with reduced attention span and enhanced impulsivity” and adds that “nicotine exposure, increasingly occurring as a result of e-cigarette use, may induce epigenetic changes that sensitize the brain to other drugs and prime it for future substance abuse” (Menglu, Cross, et. al).
So while most policy makers and researchers understand that vaping is growing to be a part of teenage culture - many are peer pressured into trying it and are more susceptible to (biologically!) feeling rewarded for and becoming addicted to a drug like nicotine - the fact of the matter remains. Vaping, like any other disease worth its evolutionary timestamp, is spreading like wildfire and we are busy playing catch up. It’s getting people into hospitals and killing them just like any other disease. It’s particularly dangerous to those who are vulnerable, whether it be weak or unprepared immune systems or developing brains. Vaping should not be considered but a harmless profit machine for vape shops popping up around the country. It should be seen as what it really is: an epidemic.