Vaping has become a popular trend with college students and is known for being a safer alternative to smoking tobacco products. Since September of 2019, there have been a number of vaping related deaths across the country.
Vapes, or e-cigarettes, are prevalent on college campuses such as Florida State University.
“I see it in classrooms I see it in lecture halls, outdoors, you know wherever someone can walk I think I see vaping,” points out Mary Rufo, a current Florida State student.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of November 13th, 2019, there have been 2,172 confirmed cases of lung injury associated with vaping with 42 deaths across the country.
Karen Myers, APRN and Associate Professor at FSU College of Medicine, highlights “The symptoms these people are having are very vague they are coming in with a cough, some chest pain or shortens of breath they are having nausea or vomiting,”
Myers explains that vaping is the driving factor for the lung injury scientists are seeing in young patients going so far as to say, “The vaping is huge. We know that that’s the one thing that all these victims have in common.”
She also expresses concern for a reduction in vaping among young people adding, “With the recent outbreak of lung-related illnesses in the news it’s very interesting to see that people are still doing it.”
At Florida State University, researchers under Myers are trying to come up with successful ways to help anyone stop smoking or vaping.
“We are working on smoking cessation. AHEC which is housed here at the College of Medicine is apart of the Tobacco Free Florida. And we can actually help people quit,” says Karen Myers.
Florida State students who are trying to quit vaping can also visit the Health and Wellness Center on campus and make an appointment with CHAW, the Center for Health Advocacy and Wellness.
“Here at CHAW a lot of what we do is strictly referral, and for those that may have issues that are the root causes of their use of vaping we can refer them to counseling here at the University Counseling Center”, says Eric Gipson who is the Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator at CHAW.
Currently, the CDC is advising everyone across the country to refrain from vaping while they are still investigating the outbreak. And if you are someone in the Tallahassee area you know is trying to quit vaping feel free to reach out to CHAW on Florida State’s campus.
