Immediately after the smoke from a vape enters your body, it crosses the barrier that separates the blood from your brain.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United States federal agency for medical research, “Once nicotine has entered the body, it is distributed quickly through the bloodstream and crosses the blood–brain barrier, reaching the brain within 10–20 seconds after inhalation.” This shows how quickly your brain can be exposed to toxins from vapes.
The brain doesn’t develop until the mid-20s. And as adolescents, teen brains are still developing. Early exposure to nicotine can risk addiction. The ongoing brain development makes teens more sensitive to nicotine’s addictive effects.
According to Iowa Health and Human Services (IHHS), “Each time a new memory is created, or a new skill is learned, stronger connections – or synapses – are built between brain cells.”
Each time nicotine is used, the brain releases dopamine, causing a wave of pleasure from the substance use.
“Young people’s brains build synapses faster than adult brains,” according to IHHS, “Because addiction is a form of learning, adolescents can get addicted more easily than adults.” Just as practicing a skill strengthens synapses and makes it easier to repeat, frequent vaping teaches the brain to crave it. Adolescents’ brains are still developing and forming connections faster than adults. That’s why teens can become addicted more deeply.
13-year-old Kloé Knox believes Vape companies target the youth. “Most kids have access to phones today, and so basically I have heard people saying, like, ‘Oh, I found vapes for sale without needing an ID verification.’”
Knox states these vapes are on apps we use on a day-to-day basis. She gives the example of TikTok Shop. She doesn’t understand why they don’t take them down.
34-year-old entrepreneur Tyiesha Deloatch believes teens vape because they think it is cool and to relieve stress. Deloatch believes the internet can influence teens to start vaping, which she finds absolutely disgusting. She says when she sees people vaping, she notices the black residue on the tip of the vape and how the user of the vape coughs up phlegm.
According to Yale School of Medicine, “Social media is in part to blame. Studies have shown adolescents who see tobacco-related content on social media channels are significantly more susceptible to start vaping than peers who did not come across these advertisements.”
On social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, influencers often portray vaping as part of modern-day life. By presenting vaping as “safer smoking,” companies exploit the adolescent brain’s vulnerability to peer influence and reward-seeking behavior. The result is a generation of teens who see vaping less as a health risk and more as a social accessory, despite the risk of long-term consequences.
Knox says that teens can be tricked into thinking vaping is better than smoking due to the different flavors they have. “They are basically the same thing in different forms. They are meant to do the same thing.”
Since adolescents’ brains are still developing and vulnerable, nicotine exposure interferes with the growth of critical regions responsible for memory, learning, and self-control, leaving youth vulnerable to deficits and addiction.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, “No tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, are safe, especially for children, teens, and young adults.” Going on to say “Nicotine can harm the parts of an adolescent’s brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control.” Over time, this disruption can make it harder to concentrate, retain information, and regulate emotions while also increasing vulnerability to depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.
According to the CDC Foundation, a non-profit organization established by the U.S. Congress to support the work of the CDC, “The belief that vaping relieves stress is widespread — and dangerously misleading. In fact, nicotine dependence can worsen anxiety, disrupt sleep, and impair concentration. Studies have also found that nicotine exposure during adolescence can interfere with brain development, increasing susceptibility to mood disorders.”
Knox says it is often that someone can hear about it in school or in the bathrooms. “Stay truthful to yourself, because there are so many different influences with vaping.” She goes on to say, “At a young age, you don’t want to be addicted to anything, because you never know how this will affect you later on in life [and] the people around you.”
Last year, according to the CDC, 1.63 million teens were using e-cigarettes. And all those teens are at risk of long-term impacts. 3.5% middle schoolers and 7.8% used e-cigarettes. And of those 1.63 million, 26.3% use vapes every single day, which means 428,690 teens are being exposed to nicotine daily.
Many teens who vape often dismiss the impact vaping can have — instead focusing on the short-term appeal of the flavors and the idea of vapes being “safer.” According to Geisinger, vaping isn’t a “safer” alternative at all. “Vape juice typically contains nicotine, flavorings, heavy metals like lead or tin, and other chemicals that can harm a developing brain and respiratory system. And they increase the possibility of addiction.”
Kloé Knox says she believes teens are unconcerned about their future health. Kloé says they are in the mindset that it’s a one-time thing. “That could be the start of a deep, dark path. Especially when you are young.”
Editor’s Note: If you are or know a teen who is struggling with quitting vaping and needs guidance, please go to Smokefree Teen for information to help quit vaping and better your health.
