Concern is rising in Douglas County as vaping among teens soars to nearly double the rates observed nationwide. According to the Douglas County Health Department, local middle and high school students are adopting e-cigarette habits at an alarming 12.2%, starkly overshooting the national average of 5.8%, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control.
To tackle this issue, community health educators, Ashley Scollard and Alissa Huff, sat down with Jason Hopcus, President/CEO of THE National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for Arapahoe/Douglas Counties, to delve into the subject on the Nobody’s Perfect Podcast. Scollard emphasized, "The trouble is that these products were marketed as a safe alternative to smoking, and teens may not understand the harm or the addictive nature when they try their friend’s pen," as per Douglas County Health Department. She also highlighted how fun flavors and tech-advanced devices with electronic games are increasingly appealing to the youth.
The devices teens use today are often mistaken to emit mere water vapor, yet, they are typically laden with around 30 chemicals that have the potential to inflict both immediate and enduring health repercussions. Of particular concern is the high nicotine content in many of these products, which has been shown to alter young brains, rendering them vulnerable to long-lasting addiction, attention disorders, and an elevation in mood disorders, including depression.
Further complicating this health crisis is the ease with which these vaping products can be concealed. "There are companies that market discrete delivery on TikTok so that your parents won’t know that you ordered a vape pen online," Huff disclosed, as obtained by Douglas County Health Department. From pens to highlighters, vape pens can masquerade as everyday objects, making detection by parents challenging. In response, the Douglas County Health Department has begun distributing free Quit-Kits to assist those striving to break free of their nicotine addiction.
For parents looking for guidance, the Douglas County Health Department has curated a selection of resources to initiate dialogues about vaping and nicotine use with their children. The department is also seeking collaboration with School Resource Officers, the Care Compact Program, and the WIC program to educate about and mitigate the dangers of vaping.
