TALKING WITH YOUR TEEN ABOUT VAPING: TAKE ACTION Keeping Your Kids Safe Use these tips to talk with your teen: • Check in frequently to see how they are doing; • Choose informal times to talk, such as in the car, during dinner, or while Research suggests that one of the most watching TV; influential factors when a teen is growing • Be clear and consistent about your up is a strong, open relationship with a expectations regarding vaping and other parent or caregiver. substance use; • Establish family agreements together for For more information about how to talk social and extracurricular activities; with your teen about vaping, visit • Let them know you care and are always www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov there for them; and and www.samhsa.gov. • Continue talking with your teens as they get older. Help your teen create an “exit plan” in case he or she is offered an e-cigarette or faced with a difficult decision about vaping (such as texting a code word to a family member). Peer pressure can be powerful, so coming up with realistic action steps and practicing them together in a safe environment will prepare and empower your www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov teen to make good choices when it matters. #TalkTheyHearYou PEP20-03-01-080 It’s never too late to start talking with your teen Vaping is also much more discreet than smoking Make sure you know the risks and are prepared about the risks of vaping. As teens age, they traditional cigarettes or smoking marijuana via to talk with your teen about them. make more decisions on their own and face other methods. Vapes and e-cigarettes are greater temptation and peer pressure. Though small and can be easily mistaken for a USB IDENTIFY THE SIGNS it may not seem like it, teens really do hear your drive, allowing students to use them in school concerns. It’s important you help them understand bathrooms, in their own homes, or even in Recognizing signs of vaping can be difficult what e-cigarettes and other vaping products are, the classroom. if you don’t know what to look for. One of the and why they shouldn’t use them. most telling signs that your teen may be vaping KNOW THE RISKS AND HARMS is the presence of vaping equipment among his WHAT IS VAPING? OF VAPING or her belongings. Vaping equipment includes e-cigarettes, flavored liquid bottles, and small The term vaping refers to the action or practice of There is a common misconception that vaping pods or cartridges that can contain THC oil. It’s inhaling and exhaling the vapor produced by an is completely harmless. The truth is, vaping is important to know that e-cigarettes come in many electronic cigarette or similar device. While teens not safe, especially for teens and young adults. different shapes and sizes, and may not resemble may inhale several different substances through Research shows that 66 percent of teens think a tobacco product. Many often resemble a pen or electronic cigarettes, some of the most common their vaping instrument only contains flavored flash drive that can be plugged into a laptop are marijuana and flavored liquid with nicotine. liquid. What many don’t understand is that these to charge. Vaping is becoming increasingly popular among liquids may also contain toxic substances such teens and young adults. In 2019, nearly 41 as formaldehyde, diacetyl, and acrolein. Inhaling Other signs include, but are not limited to: percent of 12th graders reported vaping—more these chemicals can significantly harm their lungs. than an 8 percent increase from 2018. This is why • A faint scent of flavoring in your house it’s important to talk with your teen to ensure he Many vaping liquids also contain nicotine, which that you can’t locate or identify; or she understands what vaping is and what the can be very addictive for teens and young adults, • An increase in your teen’s thirst level; risks are. and can seriously impact their brain development. Exposure to nicotine at a young age can make • A rise in the number and frequency of WHY ARE YOUNG PEOPLE VAPING? it easier for teens to get hooked on vaping and nosebleeds your teen experiences; and using other tobacco products. Research has Teens and young adults vape for many reasons, • A decrease in your teen’s caffeine also discovered that individuals who vape are including peer pressure and wanting to fit in with consumption. more likely to go on to use marijuana or smoke friends. They may also be curious about all the traditional cigarettes compared to their non- different flavored vaping liquids available to them. vaping peers. Companies that produce vaping liquids create appealing flavors, such as apple pie or vanilla, to attract teens and get them hooked on their product.