20240118-133325

The podcast discusses the serious topic of vaping and the harmful effects of nicotine. The guest speaker, Addison Cooney, explains that vaping involves inhaling nicotine vapors from electronic cigarettes, which can contain toxic substances and cause DNA damage. Vaping also leads to increased anxiety and depression symptoms. There is a link between vaping and COVID-19, with vapers being more likely to contract the virus. Vaping devices can also explode, causing severe injuries. Contrary to popular belief, vapes do not help people quit smoking; instead, they increase the likelihood of starting traditional cigarette use. The statistics show that a significant percentage of middle and high school students are at risk of vaping regularly. Vape devices are designed to be discreet and resemble everyday objects like USB drives or pens, making them difficult to spot. It is important for parents and teachers to be aware of these devices. Overall, vaping is dangerous and carries numerous risks to Hi guys, welcome back to the No Fun with Chemicals podcast. I'm your host, Luna Ann, and today on the podcast we will be talking about actually a really serious topic that I feel like needs to be discussed more and there needs to be more information about it that's like mainstream. So that's why I chose the topic for today's episode because it's been gaining popularity lately over the past few years and I've been seeing like just a lot, a lot of misinformation being spread around. So the topic today, if you haven't guessed already, probably not, is nicotine, however I'm not, I'm sorry, I'm not really an expert on this topic so I asked my guest to join and kind of inform us more, she's really smart, she has a PhD, so joining us all the way from Colorado is Addison Cooney. It is my honor to educate kids about the harm of drugs and their chemicals and how they ruin people's lives. It is vital for everyone, especially kids and teens, to know the harm of these substances. Thank you so much for being on the show, Addie, I'm really excited to have you here. I'm excited to teach kids and teens. Yeah, great, so I guess I'm going to start with my questions now. So from what I've heard, the little information that I do know is credible, the most common way of getting nicotine ingested in your body, and what is seen as what I've heard is the more trendy way now it is, is vaping, which I'm, and using vapes, obviously, which I've heard can also be referred to as e-cigarettes, vape pens, and Juuls, but the act of Juuling due to the large brand called Juul that produces these vaping devices, do you think you could define what vaping actually is, though? And I also have a question that you hit, could you answer that while you're defining it? Because I thought that vapes were literally just water vapor, is that, is that not true? Could you fact check that? Thank you so much. Vaping is the use of electronic cigarettes to inhale vapors from nicotine, and to answer your question about water vapor, that's actually a really common misconception, because they can contain and release many toxic substances, like metal or other things that have been, actually been linked to DNA damage. My gosh, DNA damage, that's actually insane, um, are there any more bad effects that come with vaping? Vaping contains nicotine, nicotine is a very harmful substance, it causes increased symptoms in anxiety and depression, which is awful. Nicotine is a highly addictive stimulant, and can also be found in tobacco. Tobacco is a plant that can be dried and smoked in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Oh my gosh, that's so awful, but so good to know. This is why it's important for us to stay informed, guys. I think I saw something on the news the other day, I was also hoping you could fact check this, um, it was talking about a link between vaping and COVID, actually, do you think you have any information about that, or did you happen to see that on the news also? Um, yeah. Yes, so I saw that information too, and it's actually credible, there's a study at Stanford University of Medicine that young people who vaped were 5-7 times more likely to contract and test positive for coronavirus-19 than those who don't indulge in the sinful acts of vaping. Wow, so many bad side effects from things inside the vapes, like the chemicals and the vapor and stuff, um, what about the like, the things that hold the vapes themselves, like um, gosh I'm not sure what they're called, but are those safe either, or are both of them harmful? Can you let us know? Unfortunately, there seems to be nothing good about these horrible things. Some of them even have the possibility of exploding, which can result in burns or other severe injuries. Oh my god, I couldn't even imagine having one of those things blow up in your face, I'm sure that hurts a lot, um, sorry, but there must be like something good for vapes, like um, they must have been invented for some reason, I thought they helped people quit smoking, um, traditional cigarettes, and kind of a way for them to ease out of smoking without having to go cold turkey and just stop altogether. Golly gee, I'm so sorry you've been lying to people so much about vapes. This is why misinformation getting around is bad, and you have to do your own research before trying products and sharing information. Unfortunately, people who vape are four times more likely to start smoking traditional cigarettes than those who don't. Wow, that's terrible. So, from what I've heard, there are a ton of bad side effects that come with vaping. There's an increase in the chance of COVID, faulty devices, it can have an effect on your mental health, just so many awful things. Um, so, honestly, who would be vaping, then, to get rid of all these things? Well, Floral, studies have shown that 8th graders have a 23.2% chance of vaping nicotine occasionally, and a 50.2% chance of vaping it regularly. Wow, those are some crazy numbers. Um, what about other grades, like let's say 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, maybe older kids? Um, do you think you can list any of those statistics for us off the top of your head? Sure. 25.5% of 10th graders are at risk for vaping nicotine occasionally, while 57.2% are at risk for vaping nicotine regularly. 29% of 12th graders are at risk for vaping nicotine occasionally, and 50.4% are at risk for vaping nicotine regularly. Wow, that's actually insane. I'm so glad that you brought those statistics up, because I know that there are probably a lot of parents, or younger people listening to this, who might know kids. Um, so it's great that you're helping them have those statistics, so they can just be aware of that. Um, so for parents, like I said, for parents and people who have or know children, teachers maybe, who are on the lookout for kids with these devices, um, do you have any idea what they typically look like? Yes, well these devices come in so many different shapes and sizes, however they commonly look similar to USB drives or pens, unfortunately. Things easy to hide in an academic environment, which makes it hard for them to spot, and especially hard for teachers and parents to find. Oh my gosh, yeah, you're right. That actually does, like, help them camouflage into the environment, and make it easy for kids to be able to hide them from parents and teachers, or even to just hold it up and be like, this is my pen, this isn't a vape. So that's actually really awful that companies are designing them like these, and that's just how they are. Um, so let me just try to summarize everything we've learned. For any listeners like me who may get distracted during podcasts, or just gotten lost in the sea of statistics and information, which I'm really grateful you gave us, um, that we just kind of spouted an info dump about. So, um, so vapes aren't made of water vapor, but dangerous chemicals that can cause health issues, um, mentally and physically. It can increase your risk of getting COVID-19, and the actual container that the vapes are in are dangerous as well, and can harm you, and have it potentially blow up in your face, literally. Yes. Also, vapes are a way to quit cigarettes, and they are more likely to actually get you addicted to them. Many young kids are getting pushed into the vape market because of peer pressure. And it's really hard for teachers and other adults to spot these devices because of their unassuming design. Wow. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. I feel like I know so much more about vapes, and I am so glad I asked you. And for our listeners at home, I hope you have also learned something. Um, and just, if you want any more resources, there's justthink.com. This is also where I think Addy, she might have looked before coming on this podcast. So there's justthinktwice.com, there's Scholastic Choices, I know has a few good articles about vaping, there's The Keys, there's Dr.....................................