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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Georgia Southern chapter.

Vapers Anonymous 

Vaping has taken this generation by storm. I work at a smoke shop, and everyday I see people coming in anxious because their vape went out hours before, and they need their nicotine buzz. I’ve heard countless tales of people who have decided to stop smoking cigs to smoke vapes now as a “clean alternative.”. However, there are so many inconsistent ,and unknown things about vaping. TBH, I can’t tell you to stop but I can tell you what I’ve seen amongst others.

It Is More Addictive Than Cocaine
 Seriously. 

After interacting with multiple kinds of smokers, this is something I found that people who have been on both substances have commented on. The nicotine in vapes or cigs is extremely strong. Usually, vapes use salt nicotine, which is a very, very HIGH dosage of nicotine. For reference most disposable vapes have about 50 milligrams of nicotine!! This makes it so much easier to get hooked to them. Ultimately, getting started with vapes creates a snowball effects that leads to short-term and/or long-term results we still are still unsure of!! 

No, It Won’t Help Your Anxiety:

This is one thing that I feel many use vaping for. That oral fixation or controlling your breathe , maybe?  However, vaping makes your anxiety so much worse. If I am in a stressful situation now, instead of being able to self-soothe, I look for the vape to help give me some release. And don’t get me started on the rampage that can come if I can’t find it when I have the itching for it. This, along with some momentary hand trembles, a repressed appetite, and feeling the ultimate pull for it, it’s like having another outer body causing anxiety. 

So here’s some tips from a current “vaper.”

Try this Instead:

– There are vapes that have 0% nicotine, 

Check out your local smoke shop and see what they have. 

CBD vape pens.

 These are great substitutes for the nicotine aspect of your regular vape pen. You won’t have the withdrawal , which is good for your anxiety! 

Link: https://cbdfx.com/products/cbd-vape-pen-tropic-breeze/

Fake smoking:

Breathe in like you are actively vaping and hold it. After about 5 seconds, release your breath.The fake smoking exercise has actually been super helpful for me. The act of vaping is essentially taking rhythmic breaths. This has helped me fill in the gaps when trying not to vape or when I don’t have my vape pen on me. This is a good practice instead of taking those stressful bathroom breaks when work gets hard, iykyk. 

‘Tips From Former Smokers’ Campaign

The ‘Tips From Former Smokers’ campaign  is a campaign sponsored by the CDC which advocates for the end of the spread of smoking.. This campaign has a series of commercials of former smokers who deal with the long-term consequences of smoking. The effects given in the campaign are not the same results from vaping, but I feel it is a good indicator to the possible side-effects of vaping. There are 16 million Americans currently dealing with symptoms relating to smoking such as heart disease, lung disease, lung cancer, and more. The ‘Tips From Former Smokers’ helps add the sense of urgency and reality of the situation. 

CDC link: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/index.html?s_cid=OSH_tips_GL0008&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=TipsRegular+2021%3BS%3BWL%3BBR%3BIMM%3BDTC%3BCO&utm_content=Campaign_E&utm_term=tips+from+former+smokers&gclid=CjwKCAjwg5uZBhATEiwAhhRLHjhMk4nQzW7LKEshQVwu-LIYsJv2wRr5B0HggHv5C12l6nCeCt44gBoCOYAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds 

There are a lot of things we cannot control in this lifetime, let vaping being one of them. 

Talliya Clarke

Georgia Southern '23

Talliya Clarke is a senior communication science & disorders major at Georgia Southern University. She loves talking about the travel, relationships, healing, and the art of music. She runs her own blog and in the future, she wants to travel while doing what she loves: writing & serving her community.