Holmes Co. youth speaks out against vaping
Editor’s note: The following Letter to the Editor is from an anonymous Holmes County teen and furnished by the Holmes County General Health District.
Letter to the Editor,
As a teen I was initially drawn to the amount of vaping. However, as more research has emerged about the potential dangers of vaping, I’ve become an outspoken opponent of the practice.
In particular, I’m concerned about the skyrocketing rates of vaping among young people. I have encountered many instances where kids have offered me to try it. According to data from the CDC, more than 5 million middle and high school students in the United States used e-cigarettes in 2019. This represents a nearly 80% increase in youth vaping over just one year. As someone who understands the addictive power of nicotine firsthand with family members, it’s deeply troubling to see so many young people, especially middle school-aged youth, becoming hooked on a potentially deadly habit.
As a bystander, I once witnessed a group of teenagers vaping. I have encountered many instances where kids have offered me to try it, and it made me uneasy. Seeing the potential dangers of vaping, I later researched some statistics that highlighted the prevalence of teen vaping — like the fact that in 2020 about 19.6% of high school students reported using e-cigarettes. The plastic in these vapes turns into “microplastics” or tiny pieces of plastic, which continue to pollute not only the environment and our food and drinking water, but also those chemicals are going into your lungs.
This experience motivated me to advocate against vaping among young people, and I have since actively engaged in spreading awareness about the negative health effects associated with it.
A concerned Holmes County youth