How Stings Protect Minors from Vape-Related Injuries
While sitting in a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Covington, Georgia, I catch a sight out of the corner of my eye. A teenager – not more than 16 – looks around the restaurant nervously and pulls his hoodie to cover his face. Suddenly, a puff of white smoke seeps out from the fabric. When he lets his hoodie fall again, thick white smoke trails from his nostrils and he smiles at his friend. He’s just a kid.
Yet, this isn’t an uncommon sight. We’ve seen it in all manner of public spaces – restaurants, movie theaters, malls, etc. Teenagers pass around vape pens and e-cigarettes as disapproving adults watch nearby.
When I was a teenager, an indicator of prestige and popularity was the newest Hollister or Abercrombie branded shirts paired with a shell choker necklace. Today, it’s vaporized nicotine…times have changed.
In 2024, parents are growing more and more concerned with the unprecedented news stories making headlines:
“Vaping Kills a 15-Year-Old in Texas”
“After vaping-related illness, teen now has lungs like ‘a 70-year-old’s’’
“Teen critically injured after being dragged by vehicle during vape pen argument”
“When I see kids vaping, I warn them: that’s what killed my daughter’”
Selling tobacco and vape products to minors is illegal, but it also puts the future generation at risk of serious injury and harm. The use of vape products as well as other tobacco products are putting the next generation’s lives in danger due to toxic chemicals. TikTok videos add fuel to the fire when content advocating for the use of vapor products appears in a teenager’s feed.
What can be done?
In this blog, we’ll highlight the many dangers and causes of the high levels of vaping in teenagers, as well as share strategies communities can implement to curb the epidemic.
What is Vaping?
Vaping is when a small electric device heats a liquid to create a vapor that is then inhaled through the mouth and into the lungs. This liquid, commonly called “vape juice” or “e-liquid,” is filled with high levels of nicotine and other deadly chemicals like propylene glycol and glycerol, vitamin E acetate, THC, and even lead.
JUUL Pods
It is stated by the CDC that a single JUUL pod – a popular e-cigarette brand – contains more nicotine than 20 packs of normal tobacco cigarettes. Unfortunately, e-cigarettes like JUUL market specifically to teenagers through the use of minty and fruity flavors. Although the US government has banned the sale of these flavored vapor products, they’re still widely available online and in smoke shops. Today, minors are still hooked and are finding ways to purchase vape liquids without their parent’s consent.
The Risks of Vaping
Lung injuries caused by inhaling these vapor products have become so rampant, that medical institutions like Yale gave the condition a formal name: EVALI (E-Cigarette and Vape Associated Lung Injury). Doctors globally are now inquiring about tobacco and vape use for any patients at or above the age of twelve.
EVALI causes symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, rapid heartbeat, and more. It’s a serious condition that is only truly diagnosed when every other possible test for pneumonia or other flu-like illnesses proves inconclusive.
The treatment for EVALI is a regimen of supplementary oxygen, antivirals, antibiotics, and corticosteroids for inflammation. In severe cases, individuals can find themselves attached to a ventilator. Some teens have experienced total lung collapse if not treated immediately, or have irreparable lung damage.
In addition to EVALI, nicotine is proven to slow the maturation and healthy development of teenage brains. By slowing down the growth of synapses in the brain, teenagers find themselves unable to focus, to learn quickly, or to control their moods. With JUUL pods holding more nicotine than 20 packs of ordinary tobacco cigarettes, minors are becoming addicted at a rapid pace.
Who can stop the vaping epidemic?
The use of tobacco and vape products by teenagers will only come to a halt when communities and parents come together for a common cause. Parents and families, educators, law enforcement, and business owners must fulfill their roles in keeping these products out of the hands of teenagers.
Parents and families need to begin talking about the risks and dangers of tobacco and vapor product usage well before an e-cigarette is identified alongside their math homework. These conversations should begin as soon as children are in environments where this type of behavior is common among peers – or by following the health professional's guidelines and starting at the age of 12.
Educators are the closest to the issue as vapes are passed on school grounds, most commonly in restrooms. Article after article on the topic of vaping in teenagers shares that teenagers came into possession of these products while at school and that parents find these products in their backpacks. Many parents believe them to be USB drives and are shocked to learn that their children have been addicted to nicotine for over a year.
Law enforcement must enforce the law when vape products are purchased by adults and passed along to minors. They also should ensure that shops in their jurisdiction are checking identification, only selling tobacco-flavored products and products free of THC.
Business owners with shops that sell tobacco and vape products must follow the law by only selling to those of legal age and only selling products that are tobacco flavored.
Every day there are more stories of shops selling vapor and tobacco products to minors.
“4 clerks face fines after underage vaping operation at more than 2 dozen stores”
“Monroe County sting operation exposes illegal tobacco sales to minors”
“Clerk arrested for selling alcohol, tobacco, THC products to children at Georgia service station”
Sting Operations are by far the most effective and widely used tactic to protect minors from coming into possession of age-restricted products. As seen in the linked articles above, and in the thousands of additional articles online, Stings are effective by charging local businesses for a lack of compliance.
Stinger Compliance provides zero-risk anonymous Stings for business owners selling alcohol or tobacco products. Our Stingers are of legal age, unlike the sting operations conducted by law enforcement, and are easily scheduled online. These Stings are conducted to ensure your staff members are checking for identification, only selling tobacco-flavored products, and following the law when it comes to the sale of age-restricted products.
Failing a sting conducted by law enforcement can cost a business owner their livelihoods as well as hefty fines for their staff members. With Stinger Compliance, a failed Sting results in a quick report providing management with insight into areas where training and discipline are needed.
Conclusion
The teenager inhaling toxic vapor inside of his hoodie is one of many teenagers addicted to nicotine products who need our help. The CDC states that about 6.6% of all middle schoolers and 12.8% of high schoolers nationally use tobacco products regularly. It is up to the parents, educators, law enforcement agents, business owners, and compliance companies like Stinger Compliance to bring the vaping epidemic to an end.
More Resources:
Quick Facts on the Risks of E-cigarettes for Kids, Teens, and Young Adults | CDC
Talk with Your Teen About E-cigarettes: A Tip Sheet for Parents (surgeongeneral.gov)
E-cigarette, or Vaping Product, Use Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) > Fact Sheets > Yale Medicine
Can vaping damage your lungs? What we do (and don't) know - Harvard Health
