What You Need to Know About Nicotine Addiction

Vaping is a harmful addiction that must be talked about in hopes to lessen usage across the country. 


Welcome back everyone! This week will will be addressing a very large and prominent issue that we face in our society and schools today: vaping. Generally speaking, any addiction can lead to additive stress and anxiety, so it is crucial for us to pinpoint the problem, and aid in any way possible. Our students our young and impressionable, they do not always realize the consequences of their actions; our job is to guide them and give them all of the facts so they have the freedom to make informed and personal decisions. There are many reasons to begin usage, and like last week's critical, we can recognize that the social atmosphere has a large role to play in this. 

This week we watched a short video encapsulating the true effect of vaping addiction on school and student populations. It was impactful to hear directly from the source; students and teachers both took part in small interviews and spoke at length about their own experiences and knowledge of these devices. One of the teachers mentioned that the interesting things about this epidemic is that there is, "no stereotype in terms of who participates in [this] nicotine usage" (Vaping in Schools, 2018). I find that to be the most scary part. This trend has inflicted upon every population. It is not limited to one or two specific groups, so tackling and battling this issue is much harder to do. The teachers also collectively agreed that it is far more challenging to spot when students are using, as the smoke is white/clear, sometimes does not leave behind much smell, and oftentimes kids will use their bathroom time to get extra puffs in. Another teacher said they had to implement rules and bathroom etiquette in order to lessen the time duration that students will stay in the bathroom. Overall, this issue has been apparent for quite some time now and it's only a matter of time before people begin to see long-term consequences. 

In my own experience, I can empathize with these teachers since I have seen very similar trends. I work at the middle school in my town, helping as a teacher assistant, hall monitor, and lunch aide. In my time there the last three years, I have seen a noticeable increase in vape usage. Farmingdale has fabricated a new bathroom system in which only three students can go in at one time, as well as a check-in sheet to log who comes in and out. I find that mostly all of these students feel invincible, but truthfully I believe if they knew the repercussions, they may not choose to part-take any longer in these addictive habits. 

This week's articles, both "SAMHSA's National Helpline" and "The School Vaping Crisis: How Schools are Fighting Back," have divulged a multitude of information that I think would be helpful to know. Previous to reading either of these passages, I had no idea about this helpline utility. If people are silently battling addiction, they can seek help through this very accessible tool. The "referral service is free of charge" and the program is setup to be, "confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders" (SAMHSA, 2022). The second article presented this week targeted ways in which to combat the issue. Awareness of looming effects, utilizing counseling as opposed to fear tactics, and parent support can help to diminish the mass usage of this product (Superville, 2019). I found that of the tools listed, that parent support is the most crucial one to solving the problem. Having a certain foundation at home can truly help to naturally foster good habits. It can always work to the same effect with cultivating bad habits. That's why it's important for parents to be invested and supportive of their child who may be going through an array of struggles. 

In my own research, I came to find there are many things a parent can talk with their kids. This can be an extremely tricky conversation to have, so finding advice and positive utilities via the internet, or other reliable sources can be a great first step. Some helpful tips embedded within this article were:

  • Talk about it in a way that doesn't make kids fear punishment or judgment.
  • Keep talking to kids over the years about the dangers of tobacco use and vaping. Even the youngest child can understand that these habits are bad for the body.
  • Ask what kids find appealing — or unappealing — about smoking. Be a patient listener.
  • Encourage kids to get involved in activities that don't allow smoking, such as sports.
  • Show that you value your kids' opinions and ideas.
  • Discuss ways to respond to peer pressure to smoke. Your child may feel confident just saying "no." But offer other responses too, such as "It will make my clothes and breath smell bad" or "I hate the way it makes me look."
  • Focus on what kids do right rather than wrong. Self-confidence is a child's best protection against peer pressure.
  • Encourage kids to walk away from friends who don't respect their reasons for not smoking.
  • Explain how much smoking takes over the daily life of kids who start doing it. How do they afford the cigarettes? How do they have money to pay for other things they want? How does it affect their friendships?
  • Set firm rules that exclude smoking, vaping, and chewing tobacco from your house and explain why: Smokers smell bad, look bad, and feel bad, and it's bad for everyone's health (Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, 2019).

This module was not limited to article reading, in fact we changed it up a little! This week we got to dive into some lesson planning ideas. I found one specific lesson to be extremely informative and relatable to this topic we've been touching on. It was a literary lesson that targeted the ages from grade six to grade twelve. The Common Core State Standards that were met within this one class period length lesson were:

    • RI.2. Summarize key supporting details of a text
    • RI.9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar topics in order to build knowledge
    • SL.4. Present information and supporting evidence appropriate to task, purpose, and audience

    • National Council for the Social Studies
    • National Science Education Standards

Overall, I felt that this lesson did a great job encouraging students to realize the harmful effects of vaping and truly educate them. If I were to change one thing, I would make this lesson more interactive. The creator of this lesson plan definitely tried to make it more interesting and light by including a separate student interactive exercise, however this piece was just an additive bonus at the end. It included simple definitions rather than a game, which is what I anticipated to see when downloading the utility. I think the basis of the important facts on vaping were present, now we just need to include some sort of worksheet to filter their understanding. Perhaps have the students annotate the document before they can move on to the interactive exercise and conclude the period with a quick class game to recall what they learned.  

Below I have provided a screenshot preview of what the lesson looks like, as well as the link for you to reference.     

Lesson Link:

https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/parents-educators/lesson-plans/how-nicotine-affects-teen-brain


References:

Alcohol and Drug Addiction Happens in the Best of Families (2012). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. LinkLinks to an external site.

Lesson Plan and Activity Finder. (n.d.). National Institute on Drug Abuse. https://teens.drugabuse.gov/teachers/lessonplans?sort=created%3Adesc&language=en

Superville, R.A. & Prothero, A. (2019, August 27). The student vaping crisis: How schools are fighting back. Education Week. LinkLinks to an external site.

Vaping in Schools: 'Juuling' is Popular Among Teens Despite Health Risks. (2018). PBS News Hour. Retrieved on October 29, 2020 from Link

Kids and Smoking (for Parents) - Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph (2019). The Nemours Foudnation. Kidshealth. 

Health Promotion. "Vaping Archives." Health Promotion, https://www.healthpromotion.com.au/tag/vaping/.  

How Nicotine Affects the Teen Brain (2022). National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/parents-educators/lesson-plans/how-nicotine-affects-teen-brain. 

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