Teen vaping is not what you think it is, researchers say

[choochoogranny]

Growing up in the late 1950's early 60's when nearly half the adult population smoked (why?), I and my friends only knew it was an adult thing to do and we wanted to grow up! We didn't consider it a rebellious action then.......more of a "right of passage" like getting your driver's license and your first job.

 

[Semiretired]

Back in the early and mid 1980s, smoking was already on its way out of favor, with public health starting their heavy anti-smoking propaganda. As teenagers, we smoked because we weren't supposed to.

We also drank alcohol because we weren't supposed to. Half the fun of drinking was finding the liquor stores that would sell to minors, typically by allowing you to sneak in through the back so a cop driving by didn't see a bunch of 15 year olds walking out with a twelve pack. It was all so covert, rebellious, giving the middle finger to authority and laws... good times.

I don't think that was limited to the 80's... We were doing it in the 70's. And I caught my daughter and her friends doing it in the early 2000's...

 

[Semiretired]

The truth is... A certain percentage of the population is prone to risky activities, hence a certain percentage of the population will always smoke. That includes teenagers. Even if you look at the statistics, the number of smokers in this country has been pretty steady for many years....at least until vaping came along.

Well no wonder they want to put a halt to vaping - we can't mess with historical trends...

I would like to know how many people pick up smoking in their adult years...

 

[Jingles]

Well no wonder they want to put a halt to vaping - we can't mess with historical trends...

I would like to know how many people pick up smoking in their adult years...

Raises hand! I started smoking when I was 40. I allowed myself to smoke for 10 years, then I switched to vaping and haven't looked back!

 

[Semiretired]

Raises hand! I started smoking when I was 40. I allowed myself to smoke for 10 years, then I switched to vaping and haven't looked back!

I am surprised. There has to be a small portion of the population that does start later in life, but I would feel that most start at a younger age - maybe not limited to just teens, but still let's say under 25...

And not looking back is great.

 

[skoony]

A interesting thing happened this year. The city buses started busing
kids to school. ( I believe K 8 thru 12) As a result I have had the opportunity
to observe large numbers of these youngsters on the bus and at transfer
points.(bus stops) I was apprehensive when I first heard of this as I remember
as a youth how rambunctious teenagers could be. Happily my fears were
unfounded. They are very well behaved and polite. They freely give up there
bus seat for me when they see I use a cane. However one thing about their
behavior stuck out like a sore thumb. Not one smoker. According to the
government at least 1 in 10 should be a smoker. We can't smoke on the
bus but, at bus stops you can if not in the shelter. One can observe adult
smokers puffing away like smoke stacks to nic up before getting on the
bus. Are the kids displaying self control that adults no longer have? (doubt it)
Back in the day it was smoke em' if you got em'. Were they admonished to be on
their best behavior? Could be. Since when has that ever worked?

It certainly is odd though. Surly the statistics provided by the government
are accurate.
Regards
Mike

 

[CasketWeaver]

I smoked at a ripe age of 18. I worked with customers all day and all night. During my breaks, I'd sneak out burn a cigarette. It was my safe haven. 12 years later I switched to vaping. So I guess it depends on the person, why they smoke to begin with (or vape now), and what may have pushed them to start smoking.

For me I think it had a lot to do with growing up around smokers. Everyone in my family smoked. My mother smoked, my father smoked, my aunts and uncles smoked, my cousins smoked... so smoking may have been predestined for me? I don't know, I could have chosen not to I guess, but I picked it up and did it anyways.

Then I joined the Marine Corps, I didn't smoke for 13 weeks, and after I graduated from boot camp, I could have stayed cigarette free (hell, I probably should have) because I was in the best shape of my life back then. I picked it up again at my first duty station. So ... where is my story going? I don't know. All I know is vaping and I have had a pretty rocky go around, I love it, but sometimes I'm tempted to grab a cigarette still from time to time. Do I? No, I'd rather not. I wonder how an employer is going to look at me when I rush out to have a vape during my break.