STAFF Editorial

It was early in the school year, still warm, when the teenagers with Odyssey Early College and Career option’s journalism team had been crossed with the daunting question, “is vaping an epidemic that could potentially kill teenagers and numerous other people?”. As a team we were both baffled and excited to take on the task of determining if an entire generation was at risk because of something as simple as hitting a Juul pod full of nicotine. From pulling facts directly from websites such as TheTruth.Com, to personally interviewing those affected by vaping first hand our team had observed an honest mix of emotions from the community especially after learning how deep of a pressing concern vaping has become for teenagers and parents alike. We had decided the answer to the question at hand was yes. Yes, millions of lives were being changed all over the United States, and it was as if those around us had been hypnotized by vaping. Had been attempting to kill off a craving from an addiction that was slowly killing them first.

It started with a dull roar that had filled the Journalism room as we sat down as a group in order to pull facts and statistics for understanding exactly what people were inhaling into their lungs. Sources like TheTruth.Com had contributed to our research by informing, “Vaping weakens your immune system”. It had also been mentioned, “One Juul Pod equals twenty cigarettes worth of nicotine”. A deeper connection had been developed by our team, when most of us had realized we had known people, even had friends who could finish at least up to four juul pods a day. With our new found set of information, we were engulfed in a fascination to discover just what vaping was doing to humans and to those we had made connections with. It was discovered a Juul pod can also contain “Lead, Nickel, Tin, Silver, formaldehyde, manganese, toluene, and other chemicals linked to central nervous system problems. It could have been interpreted that vaping was exactly the same as poisoning your own body. Vaping was beginning to appear as one of the most damaging things you can do to yourself.

Despite our new found understanding of how vaping can harm you it took the courage of a senior named Chauncy to speak out about how vaping almost cost him his life. For us to fully understand how detrimental it is becoming for those who fall victim of vaping we sat down to listen to his story. Chauncy one evening was out with a friend, when he was offered a hit from his friends vape, and he accepted. Chauncy quickly felt ill and passes out. He later was informed by a doctor that hitting a vape one time had caused him what is known as “First Degree heart block.”. He had stated “ I definitely don’t vape anymore, and I try not to have it anywhere near me. For me it’s like a trigger or a trauma because I can remember everything that had happened. I try not to do it because it’s only fun until the bad stuff happens to you. It’s like now I tell my friends to be careful about what you’re doing.” Faculty and students in the building had weighed in on this pressing concern to express how they view vaping as it grows in the community around them. A math teacher at Odyssey named Mr. Beretta had stated “Its not good. This is a government building, and it can take away from students learning. Its overall a safety concern.” When asked about how he felt when catching students who vape. Aside from this a student named Isabella Becker had mentioned “Vaping is bad for you and addicting.” Vaping is harmful and even caught the attention of Odyssey Ecco’s principle Mr. Norman who mentioned “I’ve seen students health been affected by vaping, and they had to go to the hospital.”

Vaping is an epidemic that has tragically grasped the lives of a plethora of people, and impairs the health of those who smoke. One can infer vaping is worse than smoking a cigarette, and it is advised to encourage others not to smoke. Smoking can directly cause those around you to worry about your health, and can burden your life.