Module 3:
The Dangers Found Inside
When someone vapes, they inhale much more than flavored aerosol mist. They breathe in addictive nicotine and at least 31 dangerous chemicals and compounds that can affect the human body.
Module 3 reveals just how dangerous vaping is for your body.
Meet Dr. Devika Rao. A Pediatric Pulmonologist at Children’s Health in Dallas, Texas who worked tirelessly with her team and hospital staff at identifying and treating the variety of side effects among youth who were vaping.
A LOOK INSIDE
Did you know vaping can affect how the cells in your nose, throat, and lungs protects you from germs and can increase the chances of an infection from bacteria or a virus, like COVID-19?
Well, here’s how. The nicotine found in vapes and other tobacco products makes it harder for the human body to recover from infections because it suppresses the body’s immune system.
Here’s a detailed look at how these volatile chemicals can hurt your entire body.
Breathing in ultrafine metal particles like lead, nickel and tin can cause asthma attacks, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
The brain continues to grow until at least the age of 25. Using nicotine as a youth can permanently harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control.
Formaldehyde can cause throat and lung cancer.
Heavy metals found in vapes can build up in the blood and organs in the body, causing damage to the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver.
Exploding batteries have caused serious burns to the skin and face. At least one person has died from an exploding vape. You can read about it here.
TOMMY'S STORY
Meet Tommy Lowrance. A lifelong smoker who believed the e-cigarette ads that claimed vaping was safer than cigarettes and decided to make the switch. Now, he’s living with those consequences, which will affect him and his family for the rest of his life.
VAPING & MENTAL HEALTH: A COLLIDING CRISIS
While plenty of research shows that nicotine harms the development of a young person’s brain, we still do not know as much about the connection between vaping and mental health.
Click on the facts below to learn more about how vaping nicotine can actually worsen symptoms of depression, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating.
Fact 1
Fact 2
Fact 3
Even though feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression are a main reason youth may vape, most youth believe they would feel better about themselves if they quit.
In fact, 80% of youth who do quit vaping, report feeling having better control over their anxiety and managing their stress.
Did you know your brain has the natural ability to cope with stress and depression? You can’t feel it, but your brain is working hard to help balance feelings like anxiety and sadness.
Years of research has proven that the nicotine found in cigarettes can cause depression among smokers, and it’s the same among people who vape. Frequent use of nicotine disrupts the brain’s ability to balance those feelings and increases the brain’s sensitivity to stress.
Based on the results of a large study of ninth graders who had never previously used e-cigarettes or combustible tobacco found that those who used e-cigarettes at a higher frequency were associated with higher depressive symptoms. This also included feeling sad or having crying spells a year later.
You can read the past 50 years of research on the health consequences of smoking and how nicotine harms the developing brain here.
Sources for module 1 include Texas Department of State Health Services, Truth Initiative, and the Journal of American Medical Association.
Training Module | History of Tobacco Prevention in Texas
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Texas School Safety Center
ATTN: Say What Program
Texas State University
601 University Drive
San Marcos, TX 78666
Say What! was created and designed by young people from across Texas and connects students interested in eliminating tobacco from their schools and communities. The Say What! movement is funded by the Texas Department of State Health Services through a contract with the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University.