Story by: Leah Ash, Columnist

Photo courtesy of Canva

Vaping has become a favored past time of teenagers nationally, to the point where it has become an issue. E-cigarettes were originally made to help smokers quit, but have become extremely popular among teens due to their accessibility and popular flavors. Recently, the number of teens who have been hospitalized with lung disease or a collapsed lung has increased due to vaping. This “harmless” habit has even resulted in some deaths.

In order to combat the rise of teenagers becoming addicted to nicotine, the state of Michigan has recently passed a ban on the sale of flavored vapes. This was done so it could hopefully curb the number of teenagers starting the habit, or to stop those who started but are not addicted quite yet. 

In my opinion, this ban is not going to work in keeping teenagers away from the dangers of nicotine. Kids will continue to vape unflavored tobacco juice, or they will stop vaping and go back to old fashioned cigarettes. While the exact effects of vaping are not known and it is clearly bad for people’s lungs, e-cigarettes are better than cigarettes in that they have a lesser amount of strange chemicals going inside someone’s lungs.

I believe the main reason that so many teenagers are having so many severe health issues is that they are vaping so much in a small period of time. The e-cigarettes are obviously terrible for anyone’s respiratory system, but they would lead to more long term issues rather than short term if teens would work more on making it last. The ones in the hospitals are the ones who vape nonstop, even up to a pod a day.

This ban is not going to stop addicts from getting their fix, whether it’s from a tobacco vape or a regular cigarette. Stressed teenagers want the high, and the fun flavors are an added benefit. This ban is not going to stop anything, and may even make things worse.