Mental health challenges among students are a growing concern and can significantly affect their daily lives. Findings from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey show that in 2021, more than 4 in 10 adolescents felt persistently sad or hopeless, and nearly 1 out of 3 adolescents experienced poor mental health. Some students may use e-cigarettes (also called “vapes”) because they think it will help them feel better. The most common reason students give for currently using e-cigarettes is “I am feeling anxious, stressed, or depressed.” But really, vaping can be another source of stress that young people don’t need.
As an educator, you can create a trusted space to discuss the dangers of vaping and encourage your students to develop healthy coping skills for managing their stress and anxiety. Help your students start the school year right by supporting their mental health and empowering them to live vape-free.
THE MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS OF YOUTH VAPING
Youth tobacco use, which includes vaping, is associated with mental health symptoms, such as depression. Most vapes sold contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. When a person who is addicted to nicotine stops using it, their body and brain have to adjust. This can result in temporary symptoms of nicotine withdrawal like irritability, restlessness, feeling anxious or depressed, trouble sleeping, problems concentrating, feeling hungry, and craving nicotine. Students may continue to vape to relieve these symptoms, creating a cycle of addiction.
Most students who vape want to quit. Studies show people who completely quit using tobacco products can experience:
- Lower levels of anxiety, depression, and stress
- Improved positive mood and quality of life
TALK TO YOUR STUDENTS ABOUT VAPING
You can make a difference in your students’ lives by engaging them in meaningful conversations about mental health, the dangers of vaping, and strategies to quit.
Here are four tips to help you prepare for a conversation with your students about quitting or avoiding vaping:
- Let the conversation come up naturally and offer support. This is especially important if your students are showing signs of anxiety, irritability, or behavior that is out of character for them. These could be signs of nicotine addiction.
- Prepare for the discussion by learning important facts about vaping. Some facts about vaping include:
- Most vapes contain nicotine–including some that claim to be “nicotine-free.”
- Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm the developing brain, which keeps developing until about age 25. Using nicotine during adolescence can negatively affect attention, learning, and memory.
- Quitting can be very challenging. The best thing to do is not start.
- Even if it may appear like most students are vaping, the majority of students do not vape. And most students that do vape say they want to quit.
- Share healthy coping mechanisms. Nicotine addiction can be a source of stress. Provide your students with tips to cope with stress in healthy ways like staying active, practicing self-care, learning to recognize stressful feelings, and practicing relaxation techniques.
- Point your students to resources to help them quit.
- Suggest they talk to a doctor about treatment options.
- Encourage them to visit teen.smokefree.gov for tips, tools, and chat-based quitting support for teens.
- Let students know free, confidential help is available. They can text QUIT to 47848 for text message support for teens trying to quit (see SmokefreeTXT for more information). Additionally, they can call 1-800-QUIT-NOW to speak with a quit coach (see CDC.gov/quit for more information).
EMPOWER YOUR STUDENTS TO LIVE VAPE-FREE
As an influential figure in their lives, you can talk to your students and empower them to live vape-free. Visit Empower Vape-Free YouthTM to access tools and resources to learn more about the health effects of vaping, ways you can talk to your students about vaping, and support to help students quit.
Additional Resources
- Fact Sheet for Educators: Understanding Vaping and Other Tobacco Produce Use Among Youth
- Conversation Tips: How to Talk to Students About Vaping
This post is promoted content from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC’s Empower Vape-Free Youth TM campaign encourages middle and high school educators to speak with students about the risks of e-cigarettes and nicotine addiction. The campaign also provides resources for educators to help students avoid or quit vaping.
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