THE DALLES — Picture an unfinished house with no roof on it yet. Next door is a sturdy, finished house. Now imagine a powerful storm comes through. Which house will fare better?
That was the compelling visual experts recently gave of the vulnerability of still-developing teen brains to substance use, as opposed to the stronger protections offered by fully matured brains. (Which happens around age 25.)
Substance use effects are more intense, long lasting and damaging in teens because their brains are “still under construction,” said Dr. Linda Richter, who recently spoke on teen vaping as part of a series presented by Wasco County’s alcohol and drug prevention program, YouthThink.
Youth who start using substances before age 18 have a 1 in 4 chance of addiction. But waiting just a few years changes the number dramatically: Those who start using substances after turning 21 have just a 1 in 25 chance of addiction, she said.
The teen years are an intense time of learning, and also of “pruning” unused neural connections. So if we don’t “learn” to become addicted to things in our teens, we aren’t as adept at becoming addicted as adults. It can still happen, it’s just much, much harder, she said.
Nicotine in particular is extremely addictive, especially for youth, said Richter, who is with the Partnership to End Addiction.
And today’s vapes have far more nicotine than cigarettes, she said.
A popular vape, the Elf Bar, has the same amount of nicotine as nearly 30 packs of cigarettes, she said.
“We know it’s addictive, we know it’s harmful. So do kids. So why do they continue to use it?” Richter said.
Kids think vaping is appealing. It’s cheap, easy to hide, doesn’t smell, and is perceived as cool, she said.
And, she said, “It feels good! You do get a good feeling from using them. It gives you a bit of a high. It’s a stimulant, a little buzz.” So once you start to use, it’s very hard to stop.
The most common reason youth give for vaping is to cope with mental health challenges.
“The positive effects they feel from them are real, but they are short lived and they end up worsening their symptoms,” Richter said.
“Yes, I understand it makes you feel better in the short term,” she said, “but over time those positive experiences are going to feel less and less easy to obtain and overall it will worsen the symptoms.”
For some youth, the positive feeling they experience is so intense they become addicted pretty quickly, she said. People can become addicted to tobacco quicker than other substances, she said. Nicotine is the addictive ingredient derived from tobacco plants. There is now also synthetic nicotine, which has the same addictive effect.
While some are hooked quickly and can’t stop, many others can try it and decide to stop. But it’s hard to know who will become addicted and who won’t, “so it’s risky to use for that reason,” Richter said.
Vaping is promoted seemingly everywhere. It’s rampant on social media, and tobacco imagery is being shown far more often in TV shows and movies now, after a long period of decline.
These are highly addictive products, kids are inundated with messaging about them, and once addicted, it’s hard to quit, Richter said.
And regulation of the vape market is woefully inadequate. “They’re not supposed to look like little toys or candy products, but they do,” she said.
Signs a child is vaping can include faintly fruity smells on clothing or in their rooms, or finding devices in their room that don’t look like normal devices but resemble them.
They may be constantly thirsty, and have dry skin and frequent nosebleeds, because nicotine is dehydrating, Richter said.
Kids who typically use caffeine may cut back on it because there’s too much stimulants in their body from the nicotine, she said.
They may frequently go to the bathroom, whether at home or school, to take a hit on their vape. “They just can’t go too long without it if they get addicted.”
They may become quite irritable, have less ability to focus, and their grades may suffer. “Just noticing things in your child is important,” Richter said.
The main question to get at is why the child vapes. Behaviors happen for a reason, she said. “Only once we know their motivation can we help with that underlying problem.”
Options include finding healthier ways to relieve stress and find stimulation, and finding healthier ways of doing the risk-taking that is a developmentally appropriate part of the teen years.
If a child doesn’t want to talk about their own use or potential use, ask them about friends or classmates.
Stress that you won’t punish them, but will help them.
It’s also important to counter the false idea that “everyone is doing it, because not everyone is doing it,” she said. In fact, most youth do not use any drugs.
She suggested leveraging what is important to the child. If it’s academics, explain that nicotine may seem to improve concentration or memory, but “over time, it actually erodes these skills.”
For athletes, explain how it can affect the ability to sustain athletic performance.
Or try an anti-corporate mentality and get them to “realize they are being used by big industry and their health is being put at risk for tobacco industry profits.”
“It’s not the cute 15-year-old boy on the social media post, it’s a company behind it,” she said.
Vapes are also bad for the environment, with lithium batteries, plastic components and chemicals that pollute water and soil, she said. Vapes are actually listed as a hazardous material.
“If you know your child, you can match the messaging to what your child cares about,” she said.
For schools, she advised moving away from punishments like suspension. “If you punish a child who is addicted to a substance, you’re not going to help them get unaddicted, that’s not how this works.”
Addressing underlying reasons for using nicotine is “a lot harder than ‘You’re suspended,’ or ‘you’re expelled,’ but it’s going to have a lot better results in the long run.”
Teens looking to quit can try the EX Program, at https://truthinitiative.org/exprogram, to get free, daily text messages to help change patterns and find support.
Also, the local health department, North Central Public Health District, offers a free cessation counseling program. It also offers free nicotine patches, gum and lozenges, but those are offered to those 18 and older. To sign up, visit https://www.ncphd.org/tobacco-programs
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