Nicotine addiction profound from use of vaping devices

“Protecting health, inspiring prevention” is the focus for Mickey George and Maria Delgado from the Northeast Colorado Health Department as they work with school districts in northeast Colorado.

Under the jurisdiction of the state Tobacco Prevention Program, they are now also seeing the intense effect of products such as e-cigarettes and other vaping devices.

It’s the nicotine addiction that is cause for concern.

While the turnout was very small for George and Delgado’s presentation on vaping in Holyoke on Tuesday, Jan. 14, the message was loud and clear for school administrators. The district is looking to bring them back for a teacher inservice to start with, perhaps leading to sessions with students, as well.

George said they have curriculum to help with policy enforcement. They’ve started  student-led programs for discouraging use of vaping devices in Morgan County to help get the message out to fellow students.

The seriousness of nicotine addiction has been addressed in area school projects for science classes, as well as Family, Career and Community Leaders of America projects, George said.

The tobacco 21 law took effect in all 50 states in the U.S. when President Donald Trump signed the bill Dec. 20, 2019, after it had passed both houses of Congress.

The new law raises the minimum age to purchase tobacco products in the U.S. to 21 years from 18. It is illegal for retailers to sell any tobacco product (including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes) to anyone under age 21.

Nineteen states had already passed laws making it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase tobacco products prior to passage of the federal law last month. Colorado was not one of the 19.

Delgado cited that a December 2017 study by the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, published in the American Journal of Medicine, found that young adults who use e-cigarettes are more than four times as likely to begin smoking tobacco cigarettes within 18 months as their peers who do not vape.

Since August of last year, there have been 57 deaths and 2,400 illnesses reported nationwide as a result of vaping, said Delgado. In fact, in Fort Morgan, two teens were found unconscious due to this kind of thing, she added.

E-cigarettes are addicting a new generation to nicotine.

Vaping devices come in all forms, with few looking like what one would expect. In fact, vaping can be done in plain sight with a bystander being completely unaware of it.

“It’s serious. It’s dangerous. It’s scary,” said George.

While there are numerous vaping devices, George targeted the Juul device, or what she calls the iPhone of e-cigarettes. She said it has taken over most of the e-cigarette marketshare.

Juul devices heat up a cartridge containing oils to create vapor, which quickly dissolves into the air. The device is small enough to fit in a closed fist and has a sleek, tech-inspired design that resembles a USB flash drive.

The device uses Juul pods filled with a proprietary e-liquid formulation that combines glycerol, propylene glycol, flavor, nicotine and benzoic acid.

Juul is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. George pointed out that propylene glycol and glycerin have been approved to ingest (eat), but not to smoke or vape. She added that there’s not enough research at this time to understand the effects vaping has on our lungs.

A single Juul cartridge is roughly equal to a pack of cigarettes, or 200 cigarette puffs, according to the product website.

Each Juul pod is roughly 90% propylene glycol and glycerin, 2%-5% flavoring, up to 4% benzoic acid and up to 5% nicotine.

Youth are attracted to the Juul pod flavorings which include cool mint, creme brulee and mango.

George shared that 63% of Juul users don’t know that the product always contains nicotine.

The majority of youth e-cigarette users think that the last time they used a product, they vaped only flavoring, not nicotine, according to the University of Michigan’s 2016 Monitoring the Future study.

Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 99% of e-cigarettes sold in U.S. convenience stores, supermarkets and similar outlets in 2015 contained nicotine.

Nicotine is an addictive chemical, and evidence suggests that nicotine use during adolescence and young adulthood has long-term impacts on brain development, as well as the cardiovascular, skeletal and muscular systems.

George cited research indicating that nicotine reduces the blood supply and absorption of calcium in the bones, making it harder to maintain healthy bones.

Additionally, nicotine reduces healthy circulation and the flow of nutrients in the tissues, increasing the potential for traumatic injuries, diseases and poor athletic performance.

Regulations for e-cigarettes are much stricter and more advanced in other countries, George pointed out.

Colorado has the highest percentage of youth vaping in the United States, she added.

Local governments can make restrictions. In Colorado, 22 localities (Denver and further west) had raised the tobacco purchasing age to 21 even before the tobacco 21 law was passed nationwide last month.

Some communities are banning flavored e-cigarettes. George noted that the Juul device was created in San Francisco, California. However, the purchase of flavored products is not allowed there.

Recognizing that kids who try to stop vaping will be facing withdrawal symptoms, George said they’re attempting to come up with a process to distribute “quit kits” in schools.

“We’re the only area in the state doing this right now,” she added. The quit kits include candy, gum, lotions and other items to fidget with for ways to help youth cope with withdrawal during classtime.

Statistics are staggering with regard to usage of vaping devices by youth.

Educating the youth and the community as a whole will go a long way toward understanding and hopefully prevention.