Kids who vaped and caused a huge uproar have dissipated. Or have they? Honestly they are still hiding in the bathroom stalls at school chiefing their nic but why is it no longer so prevalent in news outlets and school administrators. While vaping is still a concern among adults, right now the more pressing issue in covid-19 so it seems as if teens have been able to slide under the radar. 

The grade level that really started it all with the vaping has just graduated, leaving just a few of the underclassmen they influenced still vaping. Does this dwindle the numbers claiming teens are vaping? Student Lexi Sed claims, “People still vape all the time but with covid I don’t think people are focusing on that issue as much anymore.” Many people believe teens have not quit at all, but instead the list was altered to only reflect high school students rather than college age kids still addicted to nicotine. 

Almost three years ago was when the FDA started cracking down on teen vaping with new policies and elimination of the flavors teens liked so much, but they didn’t really do a great job. Teens resorted to flavors still sold like menthol and switching to flavored vape juice instead of pods sold with juuls and other devices. The washington post published an article three years ago saying “a massive enforcement action against retailers for allegedly selling e-cigarettes to minors and warning manufacturers of a ­potential ban on flavored ­e-cigarette liquids.” In reality this ban did nothing but drive teens to new solutions. So when people ask whether or not vaping is still a thing the most obvious response is yes, it is still an epidemic sweeping the nation. 

Numbers of vape addicted kids seemed to be going down with the pre-Covid focus on regulation and education about the harms of vaping, but that has all disappeared with the covid pandemic.  Has covid hurt our health even more than just through the pandemic?  Seems so.  Vapers now have gone underground with no supervision.  The irony is that while adults worry about our covid health, they may be harming us by keeping their eyes off of vaping addictions.