Don’t choose vaping

Imagine being a shorter-than-average high school student walking at a higher-than-average pace into the bathroom after a long, tedious class period. Imagine seeing a group of students huddled in a corner of the room, smoke billowing from the center of their circle. For me, this is intimidating.

If you didn’t figure out what these kids were doing, they were vaping. This is something that is becoming increasingly common in schools, especially in the last five years. In 2011, the percentage of high school students using e-cigarettes was 1.5%. In 2019, the percentage went up to 27.5%. (“E-cigarettes: Facts, stats and regulations,” truthinitiative.org),

Studies have shown the repercussions of using e-cigarettes can increase the odds of developing chronic cough, phlegm, bronchitis, and asthma. Other complications could be inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system, like pneumonia or interstitial lung disease. (“E-cigarettes: Facts, stats and regulations,” truthinitiative.org).

Vaping is something you choose to do. From what I’ve seen and heard, vaping is not something you would want to do. So do the right thing and say no!

Connor Valentine

Spokane