The Effects of E-Cigarettes on Middle schoolers and High Schoolers

Introduction

It has been common knowledge amongst adults for the longest time that smoking is bad for the health. Of course there are countless research and studies that has proven this fact which made adults more aware of the dangers of smoking. But sadly, we, as a community, forget to alert tomorrow's children of this venomous viper that preys on our ignorant children. As a result, the viper’s venom slithered into the sweet lungs of our poor children, and poisoned the youth with this disgusting addiction we call smoking. Even though it may seem like all hope is lost, there is still a chance to open the youth’s eyes and save them from this sickening addiction. In fact, many researchers and scientists have dedicated days and weeks into researching this matter for the sake of our adolescents and the future they hold with them. To emphasize the scale of this issue, a study was conducted by Karen A. Cullen(2018) shows that there has been a 78% (3.05 million students) increase in the use of E-cigarettes amongst adolescents in only the US between 2011 and 2018. These numbers have been the concern of parents for quite some time now, and the reason for that is obvious. These newly found devices are killing and poisoning every child’s future. An old family friend of mine started vaping at the age of 16. At the time he thought that it would be okay and nothing major would happen to his body, but little did he know that the venom he was inhaling was slowly killing him from the inside. So at the age of 29, he was hospitalized because of a stroke. Doctors performed multiple tests on him and concluded that his heart, brain, and lungs were in a critical condition. Professionals concluded that this was a result of smoking and vaping at a young age, which hindered the development of his body and consequently poisoned his young body. This is an example of how dangerous these vaping devices are.

Literature Review

Many researchers described E-cigarettes as a “spreading cancer”, and that’s because once a student starts using E-cigarettes, others feel peer pressured to do the same. A study conducted by the Food and Drug Administration(2018) showed that the most common reason that high school students use E-cigarettes is because of a friend or a family member. This shows that we should begin with ourselves before trying to help these poor children, because these students use their parents as an example. So if your child saw you smoking or using E-cigarettes, they will probably suffer the same fate as you which is a short and unfulfilling life. Now let’s talk health. The health of these students is the most thing at stake here. We are talking about kids whom’s ages are in the range of 11-17, which means that their bodies are still developing. For example: the brain stops developing at the age of 25, the bones between the ages 20 and 30, and last but definitely not least, the lungs at the ages between 20 and 27. Now if a student starts smoking/vaping at the age of 11 or 12, you can only imagine the horrors their tiny body would face. Dr. Sarah Saud described the threat exoticly when she stated that “These profound devices are a threat to every boy and girl’s future. The second the student takes one puff of this venom, there’s no turning back. When a adolescent starts vaping, their health is at risk, because the lungs start getting poisoned and the venom spreads all across the body. This causes the DNA in the child’s brain to break down and decay…” ( King Abdulaziz University, 2019). Dr. Shizar Kan backed up her argument saying that, “Not only does the DNA decay, but also the brain cells starts dying as well, putting the young student’s lungs at MAJOR risk” (King Abdulaziz University, 2019). Even though a lot of evidence that backed up these doctor’s statements has surfaced, there are still professors like Dr. Salma Al-Kher that claim that “There’s absolutely no proven relation between E-cigarettes and brain cells dying… the most that E-cigarettes can do is harm the lungs.” After this statement, Dr. Sarah Saud responded with a experiment that was published by the International Journal Of Molecular Science, which proved and explained how the exposure to Nicotine to female rats harmed their brain cell drastically, and in some cases, killed the rats. This debate took place last month in the University Of King Abdulaziz.

Discussion

After presenting these facts, i’m sure that you feel urged to find a solution for this issue. I came up with a couple of suggestions that i would like to present. First of all, schools should make monthly campaigns to alert students and spread awareness of this newly profound venom. This would help open the eyes of students to the danger of this venom. Second, these devices should NOT be sold under any circumstances to anyone under the legal age of 21. This means that the staff of stores that sell these devices should be supervised by police officers to ensure that nothing is sold to people under the age of 21. Third, schools should do random weekly check ups on students to ensure that no E-cigarettes are being sold or used on school premises. This would make the students use them less and show how much this issue is important. After the information i gathered while making this research, i discovered how much of a issue this venom has been lately. This venom destroys not only the lungs, but also the brain and veins of the human being and it’s even more lethal when middle and high schoolers use it. After reading about the effects of E-cigarettes, I believe that no adult and absolutely no child should ever use these devices since they are venomous and dangerous for our future generations. Let’s pray for the safety and health of our future generations and hope that they would make great leaders and that they would, most importantly, stay away from these deadly devices that destroy the body, mind, future, ambition, and soul.

Critical Reflection

I definitely faced a couple of obstacles while researching this topic. First, i had absolutely no time whatsoever. Second, the deadline was way too close and we had a lot of quizzes that kept me busy most of the time. Third, it was difficult for me to organize my ideas properly since i was under a lot of pressure this week. Fourth, i had a SAT exam near the deadline and i had to study for it because this is my last trial. Fifth, i had to study SAT 2 as well since i have a SAT 2 exam in may in biology, chemistry and physics. Sixth, my grandparents are coming over so i had to help my parents in the preparations. Seventh, i had to install braces and a jaw widener. So as you can see, i’ve been quite busy.