The Vape Craze: E-Cigarettes Trending at Boston University Despite Possible Dangers

The e-cigarette trend has hit Boston University. Potential health dangers and concerns about addiction don’t stop student users.

E-cigarette usage or “vaping” is most popular among college-aged adults, according to the National Adult Tobacco Survey. From 2016-2017, 15.1% of U.S. adults aged 18-24 years used e- cigarettes. This is significantly higher than the rate of 5.7% among adults aged 25 or over. E- cigarettes are popular among Boston University students, according to Michael Busani, a freshman in the School of Education. “I know more kids who vape than kids who don’t.”

What makes vaping so popular with college students? E-cigarettes are “more acceptable than cigarettes to younger people. It doesn't smell as bad and it's something that's new, which always makes things popular,” according to Dr. Ellen Grosh, a psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of young adults.

The popularity of e-cigarette usage is similar to college students smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, according to Laura Robinson, a senior in Human Physiology in Sargent College and Medical Researcher at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “It seems slightly forbidden, and there is a thrill to the act itself at first.” Students are attracted to e-cigarettes for their image of independence, said Busani, who uses his “vape pen” several times a day. “An 18-year-old who can legally purchase a vape pen may view the decision as an act of self-sufficiency and freedom, rather than just a device for getting high.”

While vaping may seem to represent hipster cool, a new study says it presents a potential danger. On January 29, 2018, New York University School of Medicine reported that “mice exposed to electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) vapor experienced DNA damage in the lungs, bladder, and heart, which could increase the risk of cancer and heart disease," according to Medical News Today. The study proposed that “ECS [e-cigarette smoke] is carcinogenic and that e-cig smokers have a higher risk than non-smokers.”

The direct correlation between e-cigarette usage and cancer and heart disease is still up in the air, however. Medical News Today reports that Peter Hajek — the director a Tobacco Dependence Research Unit at Queen Mary University — says the study “doesn’t show that vaping causes cancer. This is one in a long line of false alarms.”

Students like Busani are aware of the mixed messages about vaping. “Of course it’s bad for your health. Most things we like are. But it isn’t a deadly mistake, like other drugs,” said Busani. “If there were more studies to corroborate this one’s findings, I would be more concerned. However, it’s too soon to come to a conclusion.”

Still, other students don’t want to take a chance. Even though there aren’t proven dangers, vaping shouldn’t be assumed to be harmless, said Maddy Schmidt, a freshman in the College of Communication and non-e-cigarette smoker. “Anything in your lungs that’s not regular air has to have some negative side effects.”

Beyond potential DNA damage, there other concerns, according to Robinson. She believes that e-cigarettes have become some sort of a “gateway cigarette” for young people. She said Boston University students try e-cigs first, get addicted to the nicotine in them and move on to smoking normal cigarettes. The e-cigarette company Juul uses the same amount of nicotine in one pack of cigarettes in their JUULpod refill, according to Juul’s website.

“My biggest issue here is companies like Juul that market to young people with sleek packaging and ‘fun’ flavors. Nicotine is highly addictive. It does not seem as problematic or gross for a young person to inhale a vapor that smells and tastes like bubblegum as it does to smoke a smelly, throat-burning cigarette. That difference is the problem,” said Robinson. Busani said he enjoys these ‘fun’ flavors. “Blueberry pie is my go-to.”

However, some young people aren’t looking for nicotine but for the experience of vaping, according to Dr. Grosh. She mentions that many of her patients “talk about the satisfaction of the hot air going through their lungs.” This is the case for Sophia Pouzyrev, a sophomore in the College of Communication who vapes throughout the day. She said vaping is a great way to relax during stressful college days. “I used to be a very anxious person. When I started vaping, I felt more free. The more free I felt, the easier it was for me to be who I want to be.”

Boston University is researching the effects of cigarettes, and whether the effects of these are equal to e-cigarettes, according to Robinson. “Spira-Lenburg lab is doing a lot to research lung disease, especially regarding the body’s physiological response to tobacco smoke, but this smoke is not quite the same as what is present in an e-cigarette.”

Dr. Avrum Spira, a Boston University School of Medicine professor, was one of the first scientists to receive funding from the FDA to investigate the possible health effects of e-cigarettes, according to Sara Rimer from Boston University Research. The research has yet to begin, however.

Boston University health centers are also moving toward educating students about e-cigarette dangers, according to Robinson. She said many students struggling with nicotine addiction go to Fenway Health as an off-campus resource. Fenway Health offers free tobacco cessation programs at the center and started treating e-cigarette users around five years ago, according to Denise Nuñez, the Addiction Recovery Triage Coordinator at Fenway Health. “Right now, it is split about half [smokers] and half [vapers], but soon it will probably be more vapers than smokers.”

Until more convincing information arises, Boston University students said will continue to vape. “I’m not really concerned, maybe that’s dumb, but it doesn’t directly affect me,” said Pouzyrev.

However, e-cigarettes aren’t the only popular substance for Boston University students, according to Schmidt. She said that Boston University should work towards cutting back on students smoking real cigarettes first since their correlation to cancer has been proven. “Actual cigarettes are a much worse problem among the BU student population.”