By Ciara Zavala
Q News
The young college student discreetly takes a hit of her vaping device as she sits in Starbucks completing homework in between classes. She inhales and exhales as the flume of smoke quickly dissipates within a few seconds.
No one can smell or catch the sight of the translucent cloud fast enough to criticize her actions. The flavor left in her mouth is the taste of sweet watermelon, an upgraded and more tasty version of cigarettes — a now declining industry against vaping products.
She continues to take hits of her vape as she types away on her computer. Similar to the dopamine that rises when checking one's phone every few moments, the young student subconsciously yearns for the head high that only nicotine can give her as she continues to fill her lungs with the sweetened tobacco.
“I can’t help craving it throughout the day. I go into the bathroom between classes just to take a hit. It’s always near me and I get anxious if it's not,” says Ashlee, a High Point University student who’d prefer to keep her last name anonymous.
According to a poll answered by High Point University students, these feelings are among the majority as 51% of students say that they use vaping devices on a regular basis.
This seems to be a common trait among students; an addiction to a product that doesn't have the same qualities as other excessive drugs but still creates an onslaught of physical health problems and an increase in mental health issues.
Lifestyle of Vaping
As 22 out of the students in the survey feel the need to vape at least 3 times a day, it reveals a daily habit consistent with addictive behavior. Whether it be in their back pocket, book bag, or in their hand, students are more likely to lose their keys before they lose their vaping device.
According to Sam Pallo, the owner of Tobacco Smoke & Vape, his customers didn’t decrease during the pandemic but mostly stayed the same.
“Maybe it was the stress of everything happening that kept the foot traffic, but I’ve always had good business in this town,” said Pallo.
There’s truth in this sentiment as 18 of the students spend an estimated $360 a year on vaping devices.
A Coping Mechanism that Creates More Issues
From old fashioned cigarettes to electronic cigarettes, tobacco seems to always be a constant trend.
“Ironically, I started vaping to help with my anxiety which is funny because now I‘m even more stressed out when I don’t have my vape with me,” said Ashlee.
Although the effect of e-cigarettes is consistent with a mellow and relaxed feeling, the real issue is the withdrawal from nicotine. According to the Truth Initiative Organization, there is a pattern of depression, anxiety, paranoia and other clinical mental conditions associated with both nicotine use and the withdrawal process.
For other students such as Emily Medoza, this is the exact reason why she continues to fight the peer pressure of vaping even when she needs a stress reliever.
“It’s really easy to get addicted and I just know that if I tried it once, I’ll always use it as a crutch,” said Medoza. “At the end of the day, it’s still a drug even if you can’t overdose on it.”
Much like a young child who had a sweet tooth growing up, the vaping industry caters to those adults still craving a taste of sugar — a marketing tactic that regular cigarettes never capitalized on.
“I actually do think that my vaping addiction has a lot to do with the flavor. It’s kind of like how people chew gum throughout the day to taste something,” said Ashlee.
Like the majority of people who don’t find the burnt taste of tobacco appealing, they might be more compelled to vape the tutti frutti range of flavors that only e-cigarettes offer. This is proven to be a component to the addiction of vaping — an oral fixation.
According to an article by BMC, vaping creates an oral fixation which is, “the experience of inhaling, feeling the smoke hit the back of the throat (“throat hit”), and seeing the vapor cloud when exhaling.”
Much like the personal satisfaction of gnawing on a toothpick, chewing gum, or biting one’s nails, people gain that same pleasure in vaping.
A Little Bit Too Convenient for Students
There are 8 vape shops just within a 3 mile radius of High Point University. It’s always available to students as they can walk 100 feet from the Nido & Mariana Qubein Arena Conference center to a vape shop which just so happens to be a perfect location for college students.
It begs the question on whether vape shops purposely establish their business in radius of a possible targeted audience of young adults.
Though Pallo, the previously mentioned vape shop owner, says that his business is available to anyone legal of consuming tobacco and that he gets plenty of business from people other than students.
Vape shops are notoriously known to set up shop in low income areas as Oncology Times reports that, “smoke shops tend to concentrate in poorer communities with a larger proportion of ethnic minorities.”
This hints at a surprising revelation as the city of High Point's poverty rate of 15.1% is above the nation’s average poverty rate of 11.4% according to a census provided by the government.
Whether or not it’s a coincidence, this pattern is consistent across the nation as a surplus of smoke shops seem to always be in proximity to poverty-stricken areas.
*Ashlee's dead e-cigarettes from the last year.
Dear Vape, it’s Time to Let You Go
On the flip side, the survey revealed that 88% of the students who vape on a regular basis wish to quit at some point.
“I really want to quit but everytime I try, the urge comes back and it just seems easier to give in then to fight it,” says Ashlee.
This is an initiative that The Real Cost, a campaign funded by the government, has spearheaded to promote anti-vaping messages and ways to quit smoking. Their purpose is to educate youth about the risks of vaping including mental and physical consequences.
Tips provided by Oro Recovery encourage people to start by buying lower concentrations of nicotine or utilizing nicotine patches and gum to offset withdrawal symptoms. Another helpful tip is to start munching on seeds, sucking on lollipops, or snacking on other treats to satisfy the oral fixation of vaping.
Related Links
Teen Vaping: The Complete Guide for Parents
7 Things You Need To Know About The Dangers Of Teen Vaping
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