Neighbors just bought their 16 year old son an e-cig...

[R211]

Well, the other day my 16 year old neighbor showed off to me his "Blu" that his parents bought for him.

I'm 20 years old, in college and live at home. I've lived in the same house my entire life, so I've pretty much seen this kid grow up. I used to babysit him when he was younger, and have been close with his family for years. Over the past few years, however, he has turned into one of the worst people I have ever met in my life. When he was 15, he stole 5,000 dollars worth of things from his parents and traded them to a pawn shop for money to buy weed with. He was kicked out of school later that year for selling fake ecstasy. I blame a lot of this on his parents, who seem like they really don't care about their son at all.

Well, this kid has claimed he has been smoking since he was 14, and became very interested in e-cigs. I never told him to use cigarettes OR e-cigs, I just told him that e-cigs are much healthier and that I have a vape because it allows me to casually "smoke" while being able to control my nicotine intake.

Well, it appears that he told his parents he wanted an e-cig and they bought him one. Does this not seem weird to anyone else? I mean, I understand that e-cigs are "safer" than regular cigarettes if he always claimed to be a smoker, but what do you think about parents buying their kids e-cigs?

Idk if this adds anything, but these are VERY wealthy parents. The kind of parents that just kind of spoil their kids with whatever they want. He basically told his mom one day he wanted an e-cig, and she got him one the next day.

This just seems weird to me, but I guess my family was different. If I was interested in e-cigs and was a minor, I don't think I would ask my parents of all people to buy one for me.

Idk if his parents are ignorant on what e-cigs are and possibly think they contain no nicotine?

I just don't know what to think about this. And no, I did not pressure him to get an e-cig and he didn't get one because his "cool older neighobor" has one... he has been smoking cigarettes and doing way worse drugs for years now.

 

[Samariel]

I have 4 kids, all teenagers and adults, and I would NEVER, EVER do this! I wouldn't even buy one of my kids cigs or ecigs if they were 18 because they're not old enough to legally have them in Utah. Some people don't deserve to have kids.

 

[CalamityJess]

Tough question. My daughters are both of legal age (still live at home, one 18 one 20). Only one smokes, or claims to. I have never seen her do it, but why would she tell her own mother she smoked if she didn't? Anyhow, even at 16, if she was actually addicted to the nicotine like I was at that age, and truly wanted to quit and use ecigs to do so...I'd probably support it. With conditions. No taking it to school, and if I caught her smoking she'd be paying me back.

If she just wanted it to look cool, or because it was the next big thing, then no.

 

[cbrite]

I probably have more thoughts on the bad parenting than on the e-cig, so I think I will just keep my mouth shut. However, my short answer to your question is NO WAY!

 

[R211]

Thanks for responses, this was just so odd to me when he told me this. I didn't really see how he could be a "nicotine addict" when the only time he could get cigarettes was if he happened to be with a friend who smoked.

I just don't know what's going on with the parents... like this isn't some low-income family, they have a LOT of money. They were aware he smoked cigarettes and didn't really care. I think that he told his mom "well I already smoke cigarettes so this is much healthier!"

It's still just odd to me, I don't think I would have allowed this to happen with my own child. Plus he has the highest nicotine available cartridges, and is getting his parents to order him 24 MG e-juice.... ...? A good friend of mine was a heavy smoker for years and said 24 MG was too high for him, this 16 year old kid who barely smokes is getting into juice like that?

Damn, I guess it's the parents' problem, but still, this was very strange to me.

 

[CalamityJess]

I probably have more thoughts on the bad parenting than on the e-cig, so I think I will just keep my mouth shut. However, my short answer to your question is NO WAY!

This is totally off topic but GO STEELERS!! Love your icon I was born and raised an hour and a half away from Pittsburgh

 

[Dakota Jim]

Sounds like "Parental Disconnect syndrome" to me. You know, the parents don't want to have any confrontations with their kids or are just feeling guilty that they aren't really interested in their kid. I grew up with this being the youngest of 3 kids (by 5 years also) so my parents were just tired of any child drama so I got pretty much whatever I wanted and no curfew at all (to the total dismay of my older sisters who had to share a car and I got a car, truck and 2 motorcycles replaced yearly with new ones from age 14 to 18 - spoiled? why yes, yes I was). Now I overcame all of this to become an upstanding citizen in the community (IMO) but this was all back in 70's when teachers were still allowed to inflict corporal punishment and actually mold children into good citizens without fear of being sued.

It sounds like this kid has learned how to play his parents and he will just continue to spiral out of control (trust me, I bet the next time you see him he will probably have a mod with a "dry herb" atty on it) until he reaches legal age and discovers bad behavior will have actual consequences (or not, his parents may end up bailing him out his whole life).

 

[HFKarma]

All the other stuff you said made the ecig sound like nothing. Alot of kids smoke now-a-days so I don't see a problem with the kid having an ecig instead of smoking analogs

(I still think it's bad parenting because he sounds real spoiled and the parents are just buying it cause he just wanted one, he doesn't need one, it's not like he's a heavy smoker)

 

[Ange3034]

unfortunate parenting IMO. Spoiled kid. grrr

 

[analogbgone]

I agree with the spoiled kid/unfortunate parenting theory. But if the kid was smoking cigarettes and the parents can't stop him, better an e cig than a real one. I for one wouldn't buy one for my kids but maybe the parents figure he'll keep smoking real cigarettes if they don't buy him an e-cig. Mebe he needs to go to reform school . I'm guessing he wouldn't be smoking anything there.

 

[RedRocket]

While I can agree that this is kind of a moral grey area, I think this kid having a vape is better than the alternative. Lets say he vapes his whole life and never touches an analogue. Well thats one person who never gets cancer from smoking. Age 16 is cutting it pretty close too. You have to remember that tobacco laws used to be much more lax, and I think that they are good where they stand, but vaping is much less dangerous (as far as we can tell) than analogues. Now if it was a 10 year old kid I would have some issues. But I think I can give this one a pass.

 

[Legolas]

That is a tuff one. My oldest son started smoking young (I never found out about it till he was older) I was smoking myself then so I never smelled smoke on him. Now he's 36 and still smoking a pack and a half to 2 packs a day. It does make me ill to think about it. I haven't been able to really even get him to try a ecig again. He tried blu's on his own and said it didn't work so he is unwilling to try again. More of a excuse then anything else. I digress... with this history and if I had known at his age of 16 I can't say I wouldn't try to save him from cigarettes. I would rather he was vaping today instead of smoking. It probably puts me in the bad parent group.

 

[Bramble]

You say at 16 he was already a 2 year smoker? I would buy him some nic patches and use the state resources for the Quitline to get him some counseling. That's one of the things the tobacco settlement money is supposed to be used for (but very little of it actually is).

If I had a compelling reason to give him an eCig for using at home only while being monitored, only for keeping his quit, only with a pre-filled 0 nicotine tank, no one would know about it.

I think it's very foolish to turn an under-age kid loose with an eCig, but apparently in Utah many kids are getting caught with them at school and everyone admits the parents bought it.

 

[Legolas]

You say at 16 he was already a 2 year smoker? I would buy him some nic patches and use the state resources for the Quitline to get him some counseling. That's one of the things the tobacco settlement money is supposed to be used for (but very little of it actually is).

If I had a compelling reason to give him an eCig for using at home only while being monitored, only for keeping his quit, only with a pre-filled 0 nicotine tank, no one would know about it.

I think it's very foolish to turn an under-age kid loose with an eCig, but apparently in Utah many kids are getting caught with them at school and everyone admits the parents bought it.

No I didn't say 2 years but probably a better venue then ecig. Are people under 18 allowed to use the patch?

 

[Bramble]

No I didn't say 2 years but probably a better venue then ecig. Are people under 18 allowed to use the patch?

Oh sorry, I didn't clarify I was responding to the OP

But I feel you... my parents, and their parents before them all smoked. My girls are now in their late 20s... one of them smokes 4-5 cigarettes a day (sometimes she vapes instead and is looking to quit), the other one smoked for a few months while she was in college but quit a few years ago.

I hope we will end the family tradition of teaching kids to smoke (by way of example). My granddaughter has seen me vape, but she understands that I used to smoke and that was a terrible thing, and so I am using the eCig now to quit.

Edit: I am not sure if the Quitline would give patches to a minor but honestly if he's been smoking for 2 years already... I think it would be cruel to just make him go cold turkey. I'm a mom not a monster. LOL

 

[Jay-dub]

IMHO...

Some things are hopeless. Wish I didn't have to accept that fact but one has to face reality. A lot of lines are drawn arbitrarily. Where they're drawn is happenstance. You can die for your country at 18 but you can't drink on it's soil until your 21. In a lot of (admittedly tough) issues people tend to draw lines then make justifications later. Change people and change that process. The changing people part is the object of my hopelessness when it comes to these matters.

 

[Legolas]

Oh sorry, I didn't clarify I was responding to the OP
.

Lol That's my bad.