As teen vaping becomes an epidemic in the United States, the FDA now wants parents to be on the lookout for any signs that their children could be using vapes. Vaping products nowadays have innocuous smelling and come in many different shapes often looking like everyday electronics. This makes it impossible for many people to notice them. However, the FDA now believes that parents can tell when their kids are using these products if they check for behaviour changes.
In video messages posted on the agency’s Twitter handle a team of experts from the agency says if a parent notices that their child’s school performance is dropping, the child has memory lapses and a consistent dry cough then the child could be hooked on vaping products. The FDA also wants parents to be keen when their kids show up with devices that resemble, USB sticks or other similar electronics. The parents should also learn about the latest brand names used in the vaping industry. This way parents will be able to know when their kids have vaping devices.
According to a 2022 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 2.6 million teens in the USA are using vaping products. This means that about one in every five American teens is hooked to vapes. This is a very worrying trend, especially considering recent studies that have shown that vaping is just as dangerous as smoking. Vapes just like traditional cigarettes can damage the heart and the lungs and cause many serious health complications.
The first of the three videos has Yale’s emergency medicine professor Dr Deepa Camenda and the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Tobacco Control Dr Susan Walley provides invaluable advice to parents on all resources available that the parents can use to help their kids stop vaping. They want parents to approach the whole issue of teenage vaping with an open mind and without being judgmental. This way parents will provide a safe environment in which to talk to their kids about the dangers of vapes. For further help, they encourage parents to reach out to paediatricians.
The second video in the video series is dedicated to helping parents know when their teenage kids have a nicotine addiction. The two professionals take parents through the signs to look for to know if a teen is vaping and has been addicted to nicotine. They warn parents that vaping products are easy to hide and that they don’t have many physical signs to show when someone is using them. However, the obvious signs include sudden aggressive behaviour, withdrawals and a drastic drop in both physical and academic performance. The video wants parents to learn more about what vape products look like and the common brand names. This way parents will easily spot kids when they carry the products around.
While many find the fact that the FDA is sharing these videos with parents to be out of tune with the agency’s traditions, teen vaping in America is beginning to get out of hand. The number of teens using vaping products is on the rise. Many stakeholders have blamed this on the attractive flavours that these products are made with. Many others feel that manufactures make these products attractive and yet easy to hide to target teens and young adults. This is why the FDA and many state governments across the country are now cracking down on the sale of flavoured nicotine products in the country.
