Vaping and children

[Crumpet]

To the OP, tell her that it's a new cigarette that you're trying out and that it's just as bad as the paper kind. Hopefully it will deter her from it. Keep everything under lock and key if she's that curious about it. Hopefully with age will come some common sense and then she'll understand better. I remember mine all too well at that age....LOL. I'm sure her curiosity will pass with some time. This is new to her also so naturally she wants to know about it.

I realize the intentions are noble with this response, but I disagree that it is a good idea to tell a blatant lie that has consequences beyond pacifying the child in the moment of curiosity. Just like telling them that .........ion will make them go blind (because some adults are uncomfortable talking about sexuality), telling them that a pv is 'just as bad' as the paper kind isn't helpful to the kid or to anyone else trying to vape in peace and open other peoples' minds about it. Sometimes a good old 'there are some things that it's okay for adults to do that are not safe for a developing/growing child to do' will suffice. What do you tell your kids when they ask why you drink beer (if you do, just as an example)? Would you say that it's poison, a terrible, dangerous thing that they should never do? That kind of mess gives people complexes and irrational fears, not to mention that it helps them develop prejudices about other people.

Just my two cents.

 

[cricket1176]

Ive thought about my daughter, and if she breathes in the vapor..it has nicotine, and I use 18-24 mg. I wonder if the vapor she can get hooked on second hand vapor? Cause the vapor I blow out is the same I also blow in??

I just recently started vaping and initially had the same concerns...the only thing is that the vapor disapates so quick! When I first got my PV I was showing it to DH and trying to blow vapor in his face to show him it doesn't smell like an anaolog, but by the time it reached him it was gone. So IMO, unless you are vaping with your child right up on your lap or blowing the vapors right in their face(which I can't see anyone doing), I don't see how they could get any second hand effects... am I wrong?

 

[Tankera13]

Also, what do we know about the safety of vaping around our kids? We never smoked in the house with them, but long car rides would have us hanging out the windows So I'm hoping vaping in the car isn't something to feel guilty about. I am convinced vaping is safer but is it 100%?

I cannot find the link now, but read a study done in the Netherlands that tracked the effect of "second hand vapor" on monkeys (I found it when I started my e-cig research in December '10 - will search some more and locate the link to post later today)
The results of the study indicated there were no signs that the second hand vape was any more harmful than water vapor - however, I remember after all my research there did seem to be some disagreement over whether PG vape was worse than VG vapor - but much of the nay-sayers were posting lines like, "That's (PG) the same stuff that's in anti-freeze" and gave a fire and brimstone lecture about the evils of vaping without any links, footnotes or data from research/studies to support their take on things - that always makes me suspicious -(and why I will find that link to the study, by gummy, before I'm done! LOL)
For myself, I now vape (either pure VG liquid or a juice with only 20-30% PG) in the car and in my home - my mom, who lived with a smoker for nearly 40 years is not bothered or affected by it at all - in 15 years, who knows? But I am 100% convinced that the vaping is not as damaging to the lungs as the smoke, because I switched to vaping when my chest pain still had not gone away a full year and a few months after having pneumonia. After vaping, it would go away, but let me have a real cig and within 5-10 minutes, the pain would be right back.

I would also caution you not to take full responsibility if your child does decide to vape in the future - a neighbor told me her teen-aged daughter and friends were in the mall the other day and a salesperson from a kiosk for e-cig stuff had them try a zero nicotine e-cig, waxing eloquent about how many flavors there are and how they didn't have to worry about addiction because there was no nicotine. The neighbor asked me, "If there is no nicotine, then what is the point?" To which I agreed.

I'm also convinced the "smoking" war has become so entrenched in our society, that you can read all you want, but there will almost always be a lot of information out there that is skewed one way or the other - each side has it's prejudices.

I also keep in mind that in the 70's, an improperly done study convinced millions of doctors and elderly people to quit using salt in hopes to avoid heart disease/attacks and then in the 80's they backed off when they found out too many elderly people were dying from sodium deficiency - -
Vioxxin was on the market for years before they discovered it was causing strokes - -
There are times you just have to research as far as you can, look at the pros and cons and then make a decision and hope it's the right one.
For me, I'm fine with vaping around my loved ones, I'm convinced it is a much healthier alternative than smoking and for now, that's enough for me. At the same time, I sprout my wheat before making bread out of it, have a milk share so I can get raw milk for my family and am starting my garden so I know what's been sprayed on the vegetables I'm eating - - - many in my circle think I'm nuts - but I research and read more than most of them and I tend to follow my own head/heart than rely on some "expert" to tell me what I should or should not be doing - therefore....
Disclaimer: I also practice medicine on myself - - so remember that fact when you take into account my two-cents worth of opinion....LOL

Children don't always listen to what you say, but they are always aware of what you are doing - I'm convinced children and teenagers rebel at the level they do out of pure frustration at being continually told how to "be" when they constantly see the mess we adults are giving them for their inheritance of the world - - therefore, I treat my children as adults who are shorter than me - - yes, this is what I'm doing....this is why....for you I would like....but in time, that's a decision you will need to make for yourself....and here's all the opinions from both sides of the matter......

My oldest son died from bacterial meningitis a few days after graduation - so I have a somewhat different perspective - - he had a clean home, nutritious food and a mother who took him both to regular doctors and holistic providers and he still died - - sometimes you can do everything you can think of and the worst happens - - - There are plenty of websites out there that are advertisements for all the vaccines available for meningitis now - here's the test you take to see if your child is at risk:
"Does your teenager:
A. Sometimes not get enough sleep?
B. Drink from a bottle or glass another teenager has used?
C. Attend functions where there are large groups of people (i.e. movies, dances, concerts)?
D. Often exposed to second hand smoke?
"If you answered yes to one or more of these, your child is at risk of getting meningitis - vaccinate them today"

Pardon me, but that's like me saying, "Are you alive and breathing? Then you're at risk of dying. Take this pill today!"

There, I think my "disclaiming" is done.

 

[quittin4mykids]

When I first got a pv, my boys (15,12,10) were extremely curious. Lots of people might disagree with my tactics, but too bad for them. I handed the pv to my oldest and let him try it. He gagged and choked and said it "tasted like your old cigarettes smelled". The 12yo had to find out for himself, so he tried it next. Same result. After seeing his brothers' reaction, the 10yo had no desire to try it. All of this was with a lovely chocolate donut flavor. They now understand, they won't go near them, and all like trying to guess what flavor I'm vaping by the smell.

I did the exact same thing- and they were NOT impressed. LOL My kids hated my cigs, and are SOOOOO happy that I am vaping now- Do I fiqure that one day they will pick up a cig and try it? honestly no- They hated it-

The 3 year old does like to 'mell it' and tell me what I am vaping- he is pretty good at it too. LOL

I can tell you, when I was about 4, and my cousin 3 - all the adults were smoking- Marlboro reds at the time- THey gave us one- aversion therapy I think its called now- My cousin HATED it- made her sick as a dog and she has NEVER touched another one- I LOVED it, and wanted to smoke another.

I got dared as a kid to take a dip of snuff- I LOVED it- My husband thought he was cute as a kid and took a dip- made him sick as a dog. he never touched it again.

I told him the other day that we needed to buy a can of copenhagen (even I couldnt handle that stuff) and let each boy 'try' it. so they will get sick- and never wanna dip - LOL because in our neck of the woods dippin is more likely than smokin with the guys.

 

[ClayK]

I did the exact same thing- and they were NOT impressed. LOL My kids hated my cigs, and are SOOOOO happy that I am vaping now- Do I fiqure that one day they will pick up a cig and try it? honestly no- They hated it-

The 3 year old does like to 'mell it' and tell me what I am vaping- he is pretty good at it too. LOL

I can tell you, when I was about 4, and my cousin 3 - all the adults were smoking- Marlboro reds at the time- THey gave us one- aversion therapy I think its called now- My cousin HATED it- made her sick as a dog and she has NEVER touched another one- I LOVED it, and wanted to smoke another.

I got dared as a kid to take a dip of snuff- I LOVED it- My husband thought he was cute as a kid and took a dip- made him sick as a dog. he never touched it again.

I told him the other day that we needed to buy a can of copenhagen (even I couldnt handle that stuff) and let each boy 'try' it. so they will get sick- and never wanna dip - LOL because in our neck of the woods dippin is more likely than smokin with the guys.

Children of smokers are more likely to smoke than those of non-smokers. I forget where I saw the study, but you can take my statement as anecdotal for the time being. The follow-up is more important, but probably only from the viewpoint of a singular stance. My father was a heavy smoker for years and I HATED it. When I say HATED, I mean that explicitly. I use to break his analogs, put pranks (exploding pellets) in them, hide his packs, put up "No smoking" signs in the car/house/etc, etc. My complaints were ad nauseum on the subject. I was a young athlete and I understood the impacts of smoking, in health terms. I knew how they would affect me and I certainly knew how they were affecting him. Fast forward to my time in the military and guess what? I was smoking. After twenty years of smoking, it was time to give it up (here I am now). My father quit cold turkey about 8 years prior to now, and believe me when I say this, there is nothing worse than a self-righteous ex-smoker getting "even" with his previous non-smoking adversary that was still smoking. Oh, the hypocrisy of it all..... Granted, I couldn't quit cold turkey (I tried) and I tried all the drugs/patches/gums/etc. Had my father not smoked, would I have eventually smoked? Maybe, maybe not. I'm inclined to think that I probably wouldn't have. For that reason, I didn't smoke around my kids and I haven't vaped in front of them (yet). I don't plan on it.

 

[bander68]

I read your reply, loled...then I looked at where you're from....i used to live there! Small world! And you're right- dipping is
Way more likely.
Howdy!

I did the exact same thing- and they were NOT impressed. LOL My kids hated my cigs, and are SOOOOO happy that I am vaping now- Do I fiqure that one day they will pick up a cig and try it? honestly no- They hated it-

The 3 year old does like to 'mell it' and tell me what I am vaping- he is pretty good at it too. LOL

I can tell you, when I was about 4, and my cousin 3 - all the adults were smoking- Marlboro reds at the time- THey gave us one- aversion therapy I think its called now- My cousin HATED it- made her sick as a dog and she has NEVER touched another one- I LOVED it, and wanted to smoke another.

I got dared as a kid to take a dip of snuff- I LOVED it- My husband thought he was cute as a kid and took a dip- made him sick as a dog. he never touched it again.

I told him the other day that we needed to buy a can of copenhagen (even I couldnt handle that stuff) and let each boy 'try' it. so they will get sick- and never wanna dip - LOL because in our neck of the woods dippin is more likely than smokin with the guys.

 

[robbrevere]

what a great thread as this is an issue i have had to deal with being that I have children too.

 

[quittin4mykids]

Bander68- Really?? LOL yep- small world!!

your not familier with Bandera too are you?? LOL

Children of smokers are more likely to smoke than those of non-smokers. I forget where I saw the study, but you can take my statement as anecdotal for the time being. The follow-up is more important, but probably only from the viewpoint of a singular stance. My father was a heavy smoker for years and I HATED it. When I say HATED, I mean that explicitly. I use to break his analogs, put pranks (exploding pellets) in them, hide his packs, put up "No smoking" signs in the car/house/etc, etc. My complaints were ad nauseum on the subject. I was a young athlete and I understood the impacts of smoking, in health terms. I knew how they would affect me and I certainly knew how they were affecting him. Fast forward to my time in the military and guess what? I was smoking. After twenty years of smoking, it was time to give it up (here I am now). My father quit cold turkey about 8 years prior to now, and believe me when I say this, there is nothing worse than a self-righteous ex-smoker getting "even" with his previous non-smoking adversary that was still smoking. Oh, the hypocrisy of it all..... Granted, I couldn't quit cold turkey (I tried) and I tried all the drugs/patches/gums/etc. Had my father not smoked, would I have eventually smoked? Maybe, maybe not. I'm inclined to think that I probably wouldn't have. For that reason, I didn't smoke around my kids and I haven't vaped in front of them (yet). I don't plan on it.

Clay- okay, makes sense, as I hated it too growing up- BUT, in high school my 2 best friends came from NON smoking families- and they smoked before I did. their parents HATED it- and would have killed them if they knew it. (might be why they hung out with me, they just told their moms they smelled that way cause my mom smoked.... )

My husband on the other hand grew up with a dad who smoked- and dipped, and will get a 'chaw' on occasion- sometimes smoke AND chaw at the same time... he NEVER picked up a cigarette and has always called me a junkie- He has 3 siblings- 2 smoke, 2 HATE it. GO fiqure.

I really hope mine dont smoke- and hope that by my quitting and higher prices it will be out of reach by the time they are old enough.

I think its also your ability to control yourself, your surroundings and your convictions.

 

[John Phoenix]

Educate yourself:

The only thing in e-cigs that is toxic is the nicotine. It takes 60 mg of nicotine to cause death in an adult non smoker ( someone not used to the nicotine). 60 mg of nicotine is the amount found in about 500 cigarettes if all that nicotine were absorbed all at once. The amount of nicotine in one cigarette would be enough to cause a toddler to become ill IF that toddler could absorb all that nicotine. This just does not happen from second hand smoke, if it did we would see thousands of toddlers being rushed to the hospital every time someone smokes around them. We do not. Most of the time nicotine poisoning does show up in children is due to ingestion - the children eat the tobacco from cigarettes or cigarette butts. This information is found all over the net.

The amount of nicotine you are taking in your 5 to 10 hits off a cigarette or PV device is not enough to cause harm in itself ( although addictive) and because your body absorbs most of it very little is released back into the air which dissipates quickly.

The harm comes rather from the other 3 to 4 thousand chemicals found in burning tobacco from cigarettes ( not e-cigs) 69 of which are known to be carcinogens (cancer causing agents). Nicotine is Not one of these 69 carcinogens.

Thus you can see that from a chemical/medical standpoint the nicotine in e-cigs that is released back into the air is not any where near enough of a concentration to cause harm to children.

~~~~~~~~~~

Talking to your children:

When you talk to your children about your e-cig use I suggest you do not use words like "Poison" . Tell them about the 4000 chemicals in tobacco and that they are the ones that cause cancer. Make sure they understand you are not smoking a cigarette or tobacco product - it only resembles one much the same way that ginger ale resembles beer.

Never use the word "smoke" to describe your vaping. Never use the word "Addiction" - these may scare your children needlessly. Our society hasn't yet made the distinction between vaping and smoking and if your child tells someone "mommy smokes an electronic cigarette", they may tell your children that your a bad mommy and are doing something wrong and harmful - none of which is true.

Make sure your kids know you are inhaling harmless vapor. But be honest with your kids and tell them vaping is an a adult activity and only adults are allowed to vape much like drinking beer, joining the military, or voting. Tell them that vaping is an adult activity because it contains nicotine and by law, (like beer) only adults are allowed to use nicotine products.

These are my opinions based on my research of these issues. You may or may not agree but I offer this info in case it may help some people.

 

[ClayK]

I think its also your ability to control yourself, your surroundings and your convictions.

This is what my father tells me, but then again, if I (or we) had the ability to control ourselves, we probably wouldn't have landed here or smoked in the first place

My personal opinion is that kids will try something if it's prevalent in their life. Parents, friends, etc. If it's not there, it's an out of sight out of mind thing. Then again, some will try something simply because they have never been exposed to that something before. Or... They will try something because it's a form of rebellion. So, is there a way to keep them on the straight and narrow? I don't think there's a 100% proven, reproducible way.

Ultimately, I think educating them is a good start and understanding that we (as parents) can't hold their hand through life, that they have to make their own decisions (some good, some bad) is the best that we can do. With that said, some of us will (or have) made bad decisions despite the best advice of friends and family. Some kids (or people) learn things the tough way and some know it innately. One thing I've learned from my two boys is that they both require differing types of parenting. Rules are the same for both of them, but one "gets it" and the other "pushes limits". Probably the same type of dynamic that you were referring to about the family of four kids (2 smokers and 2 non). But, I digress....

 

[bander68]

Bander68- Really?? LOL yep- small world!!

your not familier with Bandera too are you?? LOL

No connection to Bandera, although I've been there. My name comes from someone I used to work with when I was a teacher in Kirbyville in the late 90s. I teach band, and he often called the band teachers and kids in band "banders". It stuck. I lived in Jasper97-99. My hometown is Nederland.

 

[Kelsey]

I think the main question when it comes to things like vaping or smoking isn't... is it harmful, but how harmful is it? After all, eating frozen food is harmful as it contains ridiculous amounts of chemicals and preservatives. If you stand in front of a microwave...you get radiation. Almost all the water we drink is fluoridated...including most brands of, "spring water." A small amount of rat hair and feces is allowed in food manufacturers products. There's exponential amounts of car exhaust being pumped into the atmosphere. A cigarette contains over 1000 different chemicals including arsenic and urea. A pv has only pg, sometimes vg, and nicotine...maybe some flavor additives that aren't a big deal. In short, using a pv around your kid is laughable in consequence compared to what we are all exposed to every day.

 

[Moonflame]

I did the exact same thing- and they were NOT impressed. LOL My kids hated my cigs, and are SOOOOO happy that I am vaping now- Do I fiqure that one day they will pick up a cig and try it? honestly no- They hated it-

The 3 year old does like to 'mell it' and tell me what I am vaping- he is pretty good at it too. LOL

I can tell you, when I was about 4, and my cousin 3 - all the adults were smoking- Marlboro reds at the time- THey gave us one- aversion therapy I think its called now- My cousin HATED it- made her sick as a dog and she has NEVER touched another one- I LOVED it, and wanted to smoke another.

I got dared as a kid to take a dip of snuff- I LOVED it- My husband thought he was cute as a kid and took a dip- made him sick as a dog. he never touched it again.

I told him the other day that we needed to buy a can of copenhagen (even I couldnt handle that stuff) and let each boy 'try' it. so they will get sick- and never wanna dip - LOL because in our neck of the woods dippin is more likely than smokin with the guys.

I'd tell my sons that girls don't like kissing guys that dip or chew tobacco. I once stopped dating a guy when I found out he dipped. Watching him spit nasty stuff in a cup while riding around with him made me want to throw up. And he was the type of guy I would have kept on dating otherwise, nice, very cute, smart and had a family anyone would want to be a part of. I've told my daughter that staying out of trouble will help her with dating. "Guys don't like girls who end up grounded all the time because they don't like girls who might be grounded when they want to date them" No more getting in trouble at school for her since then (I used this the first time she came home with a note about talking in class and having to sit out recess). Both of my kids have to have a reason for rules, neither accepts "because I said so." I guess that is the peril in teaching kids to question things, do their own research, and think logically, it's frustrating for me now, but it will benefit them in the long run.