BY KENZINGTON STACEY AND PEYDEN ALLEN

Vaping has become very popular over the past several years. It has been marketed as a safer option to cigarettes, which is not true. Recently, we have learned more about e-cigarettes that make them unsafe, but many people are already addicted to vaping.

Nicotine is the most common addiction in America. According to the CDC, 1.3% of all high school students and 2.8% of all middle school students in America use e-cigarettes. Not only is nicotine highly addictive, but it can also alter the way our brains develop. Nicotine can affect the way we think and act. One of the most common effects is mood disorders, like depression.

Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, meaning when it is brought into the body in any form, it squeezes blood vessels, which decreases the amount of oxygen throughout your body. Also, when nicotine is inhaled (smoked or vaped), it will create more secretions in the lungs, which can cause chronic coughing and wheezing.

Some ingredients that are prevalent in e-cigarettes include diacetyl, which is a food additive and has been known to cause scarring of the small passageways of the lungs, formaldehyde, which used to press wood and insulation for homes, acrolein, found in weed killer for lawns.

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