The monster that lies beneath the bed with spindly arms and sharp fangs used to be the scariest thing we knew. However, we are not little kids anymore, not shaking underneath a blanket and clutching a teddy bear. We grew up, left that monster behind in the shadows of childhood, and were introduced to a new monster. This new monster appears often; in the locker room, bathroom stalls, corners of a room, and the brain. It follows, churning through gray smoke. It consumes its prey; swallowing them into a pit of shame, confusion, and lies. Parents warn their children by telling horror stories about the monster, which are often met with remarks of disbelief. Yet these stories are not myths, and this monster is not a figment of imagination. The monster’s name? Addiction.
Vaping and drug use among teenagers is a rising and prominent issue. Teenagers are concerned for their peers, parents for their children, and educators for their students as the vape and drug culture expands and swallows teenagers into its web of harmful effects.
NHS Dean of Students, Jeremy Luna believes that vaping and drug abuse consumed students’ lives when they had nothing else to do.
“Over that year and a half that kids were home during covid quarantine, the amount of people that became using or addicted to vapes, or products like that, really increased over that time,” Luna said.
The abundant use of these products among teenagers can be attributed to their easy accessibility. Students migrate toward vape products not because they want to be cool, or fit in, but because they are the target demographic. Big drug corporations make their products with teenagers in mind, regardless of the labels warning children and teens to not consume their product. Luna has similar theories as to why teens are attracted to these products.
“We think it’s because, number one, they are cheap and number two, they’re small, they’re discreet,” Luna said.
Marketing of vapes often includes music videos, bright colors, and younger-looking audiences. This advertising can potentially draw in teenagers and young adults to give them the idea that this is a cool, new trend. Student Resource Officer Jason Shonkwiler has witnessed an increase in teens who vape during his time at NHS.
“Everybody’s always advertised to kids because that’s your next customer,” Shonkwiler said.
Despite the persistence of companies targeting teens, no legislature are the state or federal level has prevented this. The Mill Stream reached out to state representatives Victoria Spartz, Mike Braun, Todd Young, Scott Baldwin, and Kyle Walker for comment on how the local government is trying to stop marketing of drug products to underaged audiences. They declined to respond with commentary.
Social media is another factor in this issue. Certain apps portray vapes as ‘trendy’ and create content based around them, encouraging use of the products. Junior Ashley Ralph has seen this content whilst on social media.
“Even on TikTok, there’s trends that tell people to ‘Ask your friends what vape you are,’” Ralph said.
Recently, more types of vaping devices have been put on the market, such as vapes disguised as various school supplies, items commonly found at home, as well as items such as hoodies or an inhaler. Luna has noticed these products being pushed towards the younger generations, regardless of what these companies claim.
“They say they’re not marketing to kids, but what grown adult needs to have a vape or smoking device that looks like a highlighter” Luna said.
Similarly, vape companies have significantly widened their market by creating exciting flavors such as mango, cotton candy, and vanilla custard, just to name a few. These flavors are hand-crafted with kids in mind, with the knowledge that no kid is going to pick up an air flavored stick. Junior Katelyn Keenan has seen the wide variety of flavors that have been produced.
“They’re trying to get kids to think about it. The flavors too, they’re not adult flavors,” Keenan said.
Vapes and electronic cigarettes are a recent invention, they have only been around since the early 2000’s, while cigarettes and other tobacco products have been around for much longer. Due to this, long-term effects on the body from e-cigarettes are unknown.
“Vaping is an epidemic for our kids. It’s one of those things that we don’t even know the real effects or impacts to our health yet, because the research really isn’t even finished yet,” Luna said.
Once the body forms the habit of drinking or doing drugs, getting rid of this dependence can be difficult, especially for teenagers. Keenan has worries about how this may affect her peers in the future.
“It builds bad habits for the rest of your life,” Keenan said.
Use of vapes and alcohol can also lead to use of stronger drugs. Licensed Family Recovery Specialist Dawn Mccord works at Community Fairbanks Recovery Center in Indianapolis. She and her son Carson McCord have had personal experience with addiction. Carson began experimenting with drugs at age 15, and experienced an overdose at age 18.
“[Carson] had consequences of his using; he had legal problems, but he also has hearing loss due to the overdose,” McCord said.
Some teenagers may feel grown, but the brain does not fully develop until the age of 25, according to the National Institute of Health, which may lead some teens to not fully consider how vaping is detrimental to their bodies. Junior Riley Flynn has noticed some short-term effects of these habits.
“Teenagers don’t realize the consequences it’s going to have on their bodies or on their health. They just do it to do it. There’s no actual benefit from it,” Flynn said.
Although longer-term impacts are generally unknown, scientists can use data from cigarettes to predict how vaping will affect the body over a long period of time. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vapes have been found to be worse than cigarettes, since they contain fewer harmful chemicals.
“You’re selling your future for a short amount of happiness or feeling good,” Shonkwiler said.
Vaping also plays a harmful role in the performance of athletes. Flynn is part of Noblesville’s Cross Country team. She believes that vaping makes the body unable to perform at a higher level.
“If runners were to vape it would definitely affect the lungs and body in a way that won’t be enjoyable, and you won’t perform as well,” Flynn said.
Shorter-term impacts of vaping include headaches, nausea, and shortness of breath. After quitting use of these products, short-term effects may go away, but some effects are permanent, such as an increased risk of lung disease and inflamed airways. Keenan has concerns about how these effects will persist in the future.
“You can’t un-destroy your lungs. You can’t fix it,” Keenan said.
Changed by her family’s experience with addiction, McCord changed her career path in hopes to prevent other families and teenagers from falling to the same fate as Carson. She wrote a book about her family’s experience with addiction called “Chasing Carson: A family’s journey through Adolescence, Addiction, and Recovery.” She has aimed to understand some of the psychological aspects of addiction and how it forms. McCord believes that mental health plays a role in the development of a drug addiction.
“Here’s the thing: there’s always a backstory as well,” McCord said, “what [Carson] was showing on the outside was not what he was feeling on the inside. It can just be a snowball effect.”
Through her personal experience as well as her career, McCord notices a pattern of teenage drug use that has become a precedent.
“The DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health agency say that for you teens, there is no such thing as experimentation. It’s like 0 to 60,” McCord said.
However, vaping has not become the day-to-day norm for all teens. Many steer clear of peers who vape, arguing that it creates a stereotype around teens.
“[Vaping] created a negative impact on Gen-Z. Everyone thinks that every single one of us vapes. Not every teenager vapes,” Ralph said.
From cigarettes of the 50’s shifted to the weed of the 60’s. “Club drugs” danced through the disco scene of the 70’s. The 80’s were stimulated with cocaine and the 90’s were swarmed with antipsychotic drugs. From cigarettes, to marijuana, to cocaine, to Adderall, teens have been struggling with substance abuse for far too long. Product after product emerges that specifically targets teenagers. This is a cycle; a never ending one at that. McCord believes Gen Z must be the one to put an end to abuse and addiction
“There’s hope,” McCord said, “but I think it’s in your guys’ age group.”
