Someone who vapes or uses any other kind of tobacco product can become addicted. With an alarming number of products on the market, users can choose their pick. This module will cover different kinds of products and share how nicotine addiction can impact your health and different areas of life.

Nicotine is the addictive chemical that is naturally found in the tobacco plant. Tobacco companies add more nicotine to tobacco products like cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and most vapes. Tobacco products can come in different forms, combustible, smokeless, and vapes.

Combustible Products

Cigarettes, cigars, and cigarillos are combustible tobacco products and are designed to be lit and burned.

Smokeless Products

These smokeless tobacco products are used by placing them between the gum and cheek or lip. The key difference between smokeless and combustible products is that smokeless products don’t require heat.

Vapes

Many teens are interested in vapes because they come in thousands of flavors, are made to look like cool tech devices, and don’t cost much. Since the early 2000s, vape companies have continued to redesign their products to stay popular with young people.

Let’s take a look at how vapes have changed over time by exploring the different generations of these devices.

to make using their products feel less harsh and taste better. But there’s a catch; these salts also have much higher levels of nicotine. That means users can breathe in more nicotine at once, and it reaches the brain faster.

Because of the smooth taste, higher nicotine levels, and how quickly it’s absorbed, nicotine salts can be even more addictive. It can cause difficulty concentrating and learning, irritability, anxiety, and it primes the youth brain for addiction to other drugs.

Truth or Trick

As a teen, tobacco and nicotine use is very concerning because your body and brain are still developing. There are several short-term health effects teens may experience from vaping or using tobacco products. There are also long-term health effects that can occur when a user ignores symptoms.

Short-Term Health Effects

Common short-term effects of nicotine include:

Other short-term health problems include:

Respiratory Issues

Smoking or vaping can make your throat dry and irritate the lungs. This can cause coughing, wheezing, and make everyday activities like sports or climbing stairs feel harder.

Weakened Immune System

Tobacco products contain harmful chemicals that weaken the body’s defense system. This means it takes longer to fight off colds, flu, or infections. It can even slow down healing if you get hurt.

Long -Term Health Effects

If someone keeps using tobacco, short-term symptoms can turn into long-term problems that may last for years or even a lifetime. Small warning signs, if ignored, can lead to serious health issues or even death.

Some of these long-term effects include feeling like you need to use the product just to get through the day, which could be addiction, something you learned about earlier in this training. Other serious long-term health conditions include lung diseases and cancer. Read below the other lifelong effects:

Brain Development

Your brain continues to grow and develop until your mid-20s. Using nicotine during this time can interfere with your memory, learning, mood, and impulse control. Over time, nicotine can make it harder to concentrate in school, remember important information, and manage your emotions. These health effects do not go away easily, even if a person successfully quits.

Lung Diseases

Coughing and shortness of breath might seem minor at first, but they can lead to serious lung diseases if vaping or smoking continues. Unlike a cold, these conditions may never fully go away.  Here is a closer look at how smoking or vaping can lead to long-term lung issues:

Cancer

Using tobacco products, whether smoking, dipping, or vaping increases the risk of cancer. Regular cigarettes contain at least 69 cancer-causing chemicals, and smokeless tobacco contains at least 28. While vapes are still being studied, they also contain many of the same harmful substances that damage cells and can lead to cancer over time.

One of the deadliest forms of cancer is lung cancer. When harmful chemicals from tobacco enter the lungs, they can damage lung cells. Over time, this damage can lead to the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, what we call cancer.

But lung cancer isn’t the only risk. Nicotine and other chemicals in tobacco products can also increase the chances of developing cancer in the throat, mouth, esophagus, pancreas, bladder, kidneys, liver, stomach, colon, rectum, and cervix. Many of these cancers take years to develop, meaning someone who starts using tobacco as a teen and never quits may not see the damage until much later in life.

The best way to avoid or lower the risks of short-and long-term health effects is to avoid using tobacco or quitting as soon as possible. The longer someone uses nicotine, the harder it can be to quit, and the more dangerous it can be to the brain, lungs, and body.

Nicotine doesn't just affect your body, it impacts your mind, too. When someone vapes or smokes, they are at a higher risk of struggling with mental health challenges like anxiety or depression.

It can mess with your mood and make feelings of stress and or  sadness even worse. Many people think nicotine helps them relax, but that feeling is temporary. This is because of dopamine that is released. Remember dopamine gives users the quick “feel good” effect.

Withdrawal from nicotine can be tough. It can make it hard to focus, create mood swings, and cause someone to prioritize vaping over school, sleep, or spending time with friends and family.

When someone gets hooked on vaping or tobacco, it often becomes a big part of their daily routine. They might start spending more time vaping alone instead of hanging out with friends or participating in activities they used to enjoy. What might seem like a way to “take a break” can turn into isolation. Over time, friends may notice that the person is less present, distracted, or simply not as engaged.

Although it may be common for many teens, what if some of your friends don’t want to be around it. The smell, the health concerns of secondhand aerosol or smoke, or just not agreeing with the habit can create distance. For some people, nicotine use can damage their reputation, especially in places like school, sports teams, or part-time jobs.

Keeping up with a tobacco habit can also get expensive! Whether it’s buying disposable vapes, pods, or other tobacco products the cost can add up fast. A single vape might be $20, but if someone is buying several vapes a month, that’s hundreds of dollars a year. That’s money that could have gone toward clothes, hobbies, a downpayment on a car, or saving for a trip.

What starts off as a “small” habit can lead to a serious addiction and end up costing money and your health in the long run.