Parents of teens...is vaping common in your community? (Inspired by pot thread)

[holden]

The thread about smelling pot everywhere made me wonder about vaping among teens in your community.

Teens vaping is so common where I live (suburb of Philadelphia). It seems like they all do it. My teacher friends say it is a problem in schools. Kids in our community as young as fourth grade are making frequent trips to the bathroom to vape.

Is it like this everywhere?

 

[slo]

OMG…..yes, yes and yes

Thank goodness my DD20 has always been an athlete and never was tempted to vape. She would tell me stories though of all the kids vaping at school, around school and anywhere else that she would see fellow students. She graduated in 2022.

 

[Disneylover99]

It doesn’t seem to be a big thing in my area - Toronto. My daughter says just a few teens vape at her HS. It probably differs from school to school, but I generally don’t notice teens vaping.

 

[bennifer]

It's common here in western PA, too. DS (8th grade) has seen kids vape in class starting in 6th! At the end of the last school year 2 kids from the middle school were taken to the hospital via ambulance because of some sort of vaping incident. Not sure what that was about, and I don't really care to know, as long as DS isn't doing it.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Yes, it is a problem with teens in my area. Both of my boys are cross country runners and pretty serious about it, so they are not tempted, thankfully.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Sadly, it is definitely common here.

 

[holden]

It will be interesting to watch this generation of teens to see what the affect of vaping has on their health when they get older.

 

[jimmymc]

Not a parent, but I'm not that far past being a teen. Vaping is the new smoking in the bathroom. Kids will duck in between classes or during lunch to vape in there. You can pretty much always smell it.

 

[mjkacmom]

Huge here, our town just banned any additional smoke shops (we have 3).

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Yes very common. I’m also outside of Philly, in NJ. There are smoke shops everywhere.

My daughter is in high school. Kids vape in the bathroom and have set of fire alarms and the fire department has had to come out. I think twice last year. The school sent out an email that charges will start being pressed if it happens again.

Now it’s almost impossible to use the bathroom at school. They keep them locked. You have to get a pass to use the bathroom. It’s a big issue and I’m glad it’s my daughters last year. They punish all the kids for the actions of some kids.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

It will be interesting to watch this generation of teens to see what the affect of vaping has on their health when they get older.

I tell my kids it’s the new “cool” way to get them addicted to tobacco since cigarettes aren’t cool anymore. They’ve sucked these kids in and they think it’s better than cigarettes. I believe it’ll be the same effects cigarettes have.

They are also vaping marijuana oils since it doesn’t smell like marijuana. You can pretty much do it anywhere and no one notices if you are outside.

 

[ronandannette]

I don’t think it was quite a thing yet when our 26 y.o. DS was a teen, but he has since taken up vaping, which shocks us. Neither he or his friends (then or now) would be caught dead smoking cigarettes - DH and I are smokers and he’s always reviled it.

 

[Minnesota!]

Yes, it is. My oldest son vaped for a while but his girlfriend gave him an ultimatum and he quit. Mom's words had no weight, but hers sure did, ha! Whatever works...

 

[holden]

I tell my kids it’s the new “cool” way to get them addicted to tobacco since cigarettes aren’t cool anymore. They’ve sucked these kids in and they think it’s better then cigarettes. I believe it’ll be the same affects cigarettes have.

They are also vaping marijuana oils since it doesn’t smell like marijuana. You can pretty much do it anywhere and no one notices if you are outside.

Bingo. You are absolutely right.

 

[holden]

Yes, it is. My oldest son vaped for a while but his girlfriend gave him an ultimatum and he quit. Mom's words had no weight, but hers sure did, ha! Whatever works...

We kept catching DD16 with vapes and throwing them out (put them in a glass of water first), talking to her about quitting, etc. It's hard when you are addicted.

She eventually decided to quit on her own. That's the only thing that works. They have to want to quit. Glad your son quit too.

 

[Minnesota!]

We kept catching DD16 with vapes and throwing them out (put them in a glass of water first), talking to her about quitting, etc. It's hard when you are addicted.

She eventually decided to quit on her own. That's the only thing that works. They have to want to quit. Glad your son quit too.

Yeah, the only thing that got ME to quit smoking years ago was...me. Nothing else worked, etc. Glad your DD is done, too. They sure have a hold on the younger kids. Scary.

 

[design_mom]

I think it's common here. "Many" do it -- definitely enough to be a problem -- but it definitely isn't everyone (probably not even "most.") (Suburban Ohio)

My son tried it in high school (much to my chagrin and frustration. He KNEW better! We'd talked about it... multiple times.) Thankfully, I think it was experimentation and didn't become a permanent thing. He also had some friends who did it (which is why he tried it), but his close friends did not (which is probably the biggest factor in why he didn't continue. Thank you, good friends!)

My daughter (19) started complaining about the cloud of haze in the bathrooms at school as young as middle school (and the teachers I know confirmed, yes, vaping in the bathrooms is a big issue), but I don't think she nor any of her friends ever tried it.

 

[notatallmagic]

Super common here - rural Ohio. The kids even tried/do it in class in middle school. I don't want to say "everybody" but many/most. My kiddos are athletes, so to the best of my knowledge they don't vape (nor do most of their friends), but it's definitely a thing.

 

[fly girl]

Sadly, it’s common here too. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know how slick the manufacturers are to appeal to kids. The flavors alone.

As far as I know dd hasn’t tried/used. She has seen it at school and knows kids that vape, but not kids in her social circle.

 

[brockash]

The thread about smelling pot everywhere made me wonder about vaping among teens in your community.

Teens vaping is so common where I live (suburb of Philadelphia). It seems like they all do it. My teacher friends say it is a problem in schools. Kids in our community as young as fourth grade are making frequent trips to the bathroom to vape.

Is it like this everywhere?

Upstate, very rural NY and yes very prevalent here with our students.