Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, yet we still see middle school, high school and college-aged students’ tobacco use rising over the most recent years.

Why? Two words: Electronic cigarettes.

E-cigarettes, such as vapes and JUULs, are the most commonly used tobacco product among high school and middle school students, according to a study by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

The report stated that 23.6% of high school students and 6.7% of middle school students used some type of tobacco product in 2020, and e-cigarettes were the most popular way kids were getting their nicotine fix.

By product, current use among high school students for cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, hookahs, heated tobacco products and pipe tobacco was 5% or fewer per product.

The trend continues in college and is something I’ve witnessed far too often. I can’t go to concerts or events without being engulfed into a hazy cloud of smoke periodically throughout the night, and I’m tired of it.

The reason I am so passionately against vaping is because, to put it simply, I think it’s dumb.

Vaping is a waste of time and money. According to a 2021 article by SingleCare, electronic cigarette sales surpassed $15.7 billion in 2018 and are expected to reach $40 billion worldwide by 2023.

Imagine all of the good that could be done in the world with $40 billion. Instead of putting that money to better use, we see young people fighting nicotine addictions.

As a society, we’ve come so far since the 1960s and 1970s, where cigarettes were relentlessly glorified as “cool” and “hip” by constant smoking on television and in movies by the most famous Hollywood actors. Today, traditional cigarette usage has dropped 68% from 1965 to 2018, according to an article by the American Lung Association.

This clear decline comes at the hands of increased implementation of evidence-based tobacco control strategies at the local, state and national levels. This, combined with product regulation by the FDA, has prevented and reduced all forms of tobacco product usage among U.S. youths, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s report.

Regular cigarette usage has declined in recent years thanks to these regulations, but e-cigarette usage has clearly taken its place and will continue to rise. I argue that these aforementioned regulations are not helping enough.

We need to be doing more than just putting in regulations because, as most people know, it’s still relatively easy for underage people to get access to tobacco products. I mean, if it were really that difficult for middle school and high school-aged students to get them, then the statistics I stated earlier wouldn’t be as drastic as they were.

One company, Truth, has decided to take on an interesting ad campaign style in order to curb the rise in vaping within young people. How did they do it? By advertising e-cigarettes, vapes and JUULs as “depression sticks.”

The website is artfully set up to display, in bright yellow and orange letters, what they believe is the exact “truth” about these tobacco products. It begins by facetiously asking the viewer “Why be happy when you can be sad?” Of course, nobody would willingly make themselves sad, right? The ad campaign claims that millions of people are already doing so by vaping.

“Nicotine in vapes can amplify feelings of depression and anxiety,” the website claims. This is a bold claim, which is why, as one scrolls through, it explains the statement.

According to the ad campaign, a single JUUL cartridge contains the same amount of nicotine as 20 cigarettes, toxic chemicals that can negatively affect the nervous system and those toxic chemicals “may potentially contribute to the observed association between vapes and depression.”

The ad campaign website ends by highlighting mental health resources available as well as resources available for nicotine addictions.

In the era of increased positive mental health visibility and practices, I believe that this ad campaign could be the answer necessary to decrease vaping in young people. Today, more people are being open about depression, anxiety and overall mental health than ever before, which is why I think this campaign actually has a legitimate shot at making a difference.

By highlighting the negative aspects of vaping, not only to physical health but to mental health, the campaign seeks to hit something deeper within people. It seeks to resonate with our overall care for our own immediate quality of life more so than in the past.

Vaping has taken control of many young people’s lives and it’s been proven to negatively impact it. So, I’m asking that you reconsider next time you pick up your vape because it could have serious negative impacts on your mental health.

Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.