JUUL Epidemic Takes Over Ferguson

Recently the use of JUULs has increased in schools including John A. Ferguson Senior High School. JUULs make teenagers addicted to vaping, and very likely to get addicted to smoking traditional cigarettes, because twice as much nicotine is utilized in JUULs and the flavors decrease the possibility of someone to quit vape. Most adolescents are aware of the health, behavior, and mental consequences, but they still use e-cigarettes in their daily lives.

JUULs are small gadgets which are battery-powered and the “juice” in pods contain different chemicals such as nicotine and flavors last differently for everyone, since it depends on how frequently someone vapes. JUULs are heated up to create a gas which is being inhaled. Additionally, these devices can easily fit in the palm of a hand. Plus, they have the appearance of a USB or pen, making it an effortless sneak into school past authorities. These devices are also known as electronic cigarettes, which are used to smoke marijuana, tobacco, and other drugs. Consequently, students at John A. Ferguson have different perspectives about JUULs and each of them have their own reasons for it.

According to a survey from 2017, 23.9% of 10th graders in the United States vape, meanwhile 27.8% of 12th graders use JUULs daily. In John A. Ferguson, many students are aware that vape has an immense influence on their lungs. 10th grader, Karina Beltre, shares her knowledge about JUULs, “First of all, it’s bad for your health, bad for your lungs, and it could actually lead to problems for your health when you’re older.” Another 10th grader, Geraldine Torres, states, “I don’t smoke, because it’s bad for my body, everybody knows that, and I don’t want to damage my body. I want to be healthy you know, eat my vegetables and fruit.” As shown, many students, even those who vape are aware of the consequences.

The principal of Ferguson, Mr. Villalobos, mentioned that the Florida International University Research Team of FIU is going to collaborate with our school to reduce the number of students who vape. Mr. Villalobos, declares that “we will be one of the first schools in this area that is going to have them talk to students and ask for volunteers to come and understand the effects of vaping, because vaping can be as small as a flavor, to as big as real drugs, or sometimes even chemically induced drugs that we don’t know what they put in there, so there have been casualties in schools and outside of schools of students that have been sent to the hospital and so on and so forth.” Hence, Mr. Villalobos plans to inform students more about vaping to decrease the chances of adolescents using JUULs in and outside of school.

The majority of students at Ferguson have a general idea about vape, but there are a handful of teenagers who are more conscious about this topic. Sylvia Golindano, another 10th grader at Ferguson, reveals “my family has had a lot of health problems with the brain and all that kind of stuff, and smoking can progress it even faster, you know. I don’t want to follow in those footsteps.”

But even with the principal’s message, students at Ferguson continue to vape. When asked on how she found out about vaping, one sophomore responded, “School. A lot of people do it.” Naturally, this is how everything spreads between teenagers; through word of mouth and the internet. At first, not many people knew about it. Then the next thing you know, most of the students have friends who have JUULs, and soon, vaping spreads like a wildfire throughout the school.

One student who only vapes occasionally and learned about JUULs from her boyfriend started only a month ago. For her, vaping makes her feel nice. “I can forget my worries, and it makes me laugh a lot.” Students can see vaping as an outlet from the stress of school, and the sweet flavors certainly don’t help with the situation. “For me, it’s kind of like anxiety relief.” A sophomore said. Having these JUULs are usually seen as an escape, from school, family, and any of their troubles. The question is, why does life have to be so stressful that you turn to smoke to calm yourself? Of course, that isn’t a question that can be easily answered. So, just for now, we need to focus on the difficulty at hand: JUULs.

While most students know at least some of the health issues revolving around vaping, they continue to do it, wanting to feel good without worrying about the consequences. How much students vape can differentiate from every once in a while to a few times a week. Pods, small capsules in JUULs where the juice is stored, last from 2 weeks to a month. No matter how much the kids vape, the results of that will remain the same: It may not be harmful to your body now, but it will be in the very near future.

Regardless of the way students hear about and use JUULs, the facts remain the same. Teens are smoking JUULs that have high concentrations of nicotine, a highly addictive chemical, and other dangerous elements. Once people realize that this is a real problem that needs to be dealt with, we can hopefully start seeing more education, caution, and restrictions. With any luck, Principal Villalobos’ partnership with FIU could make that happen. Unfortunately, until then, some Ferguson students will remain a part of the vaping epidemic involving an ever increasing number of teenagers nationwide.