Coaches Corner - The Dangers of Vaping
Vaping may be one of the largest epidemics that our youth face today in our society and it's an issue that cannot be ignored. As an organization, we have not dealt with any direct issues with vaping. Yet as an organization centered on YOUTH sports, we need to recognize and inform our community of the significant dangers related to vaping. Our focus is on healthy athletes and just as we provide concussion education it is also important we educate families on other topics to keep our athletes healthy. Even if your kids are not vaping, they are definitely exposed to it through peers, media, and marketing. This is a dangerous trend that we must educate ourselves and our children on. Vaping effects every demographic in society, discriminating no one, which really shows how big of an epidemic it is.
Back in the early 1900's cigarettes were marketed as an alternative to chewing tobacco as a puff of smoke was cleaner than spitting on the ground. Even then the marketing promoted that cigarettes were a "better" alternative. But "better" clearly doesn't mean better for you in terms of health. Today cigarette use among teens is at an all-time low, mainly because the education is better on the dangers of cigarettes. People, even kids, don't want to be misled by any product.
But the danger continues today, as vaping and e-cigarettes are a newer product with little history and today's marketing mirrors the misleading marketing of cigarettes of the past. Vaping is shown by the tobacco industry as a good alternative to traditional cigarettes. Many of the marketing is targeted to the youth as seen in advertising. It even promotes flavors that are enticing to children like bubble gum and cotton candy flavors. Has the marketing worked? In many regards, yes! Most adolescents and teens are able to recognize major vaping brand names and that alone is scary enough.
Last year I was able to interview
Samir Soneji, PhD, a demographer from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine. He is one of the leading researchers on the dangers of vaping and how it effects public health. After several hours, I walked away with one overarching conclusion that vaping and e-cigarettes are extremely dangerous even when compared to cigarettes. Here are some key takeaways from my interview with Dr. Soneji:
- e-cigarettes are more addictive and more sophisticated than cigarettes, which means they potentially could be more dangerous.
- There currently is a drastic increase in e-cigarette use, especially at the adolescent and teen ages.
- The tobacco industry is successfully targeting the younger population through its' marketing.
- To burn anything and inhale it into your body is naturally unhealthy including vaping.
I knew going into the interview that vaping was inherently not healthy for you, but walking out, I was alarmed and scared by this new epidemic. As a youth organization composed of coaches and parents, it is important for us all to take time and talk to our children about the dangers of vaping.
Below are some great resources to review to become better educated on the dangers of vaping.
