Editor's Note: This 17-year-old Prairie Grove High School student agreed to talk about his vaping habit but asked that his name not be used. For that reason, his first name has been changed to "John" to protect his identity.
PRAIRIE GROVE -- John, a 17-year-old junior at Prairie Grove High School, said he tried vaping a few times as an experiment but decided to start using it on a regular basis after he bought his first device from a friend while working with the FFA chapter at the Washington County Fair.
Now, he said vapes every day and spends about $30 a week of his own money on his habit. This doesn't include the $50 device or replacing coils for the device that cost $15. Because he's underage, an older friend buys his vaping supplies for him at a place on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fayetteville.
John said he vapes because it "gives him a rush." He also admits he is probably addicted to the nicotine and has tried to quit a few times. He said it didn't last because he didn't like the way he felt. He had headaches and couldn't focus, he said.
"It gets on your mind," John added.
According to the junior, many students, most boys, vape at Prairie Grove High School. Sometimes it's in the classroom but mostly, it's in the bathrooms. His guess is that 50 percent of the guys in his grade vape.
John said he usually vapes in his vehicle and does not believe that it affects his ability to drive or do other things.
He said he would like to slow down the use of his vaping device and probably would be interested in quitting but doesn't believe that's possible right now. For one thing, he said his friends vape and it's hard to quit when others around him are doing it.
The vaping juice that John uses has 50 mg of nicotine in it. He said news reports about the dangers of vaping worry him somewhat but he's smoked cigarettes and vaped, and said smoking cigarettes bothers him more than vaping.
John's mother said she saw vaping paraphernalia in the house but her son said it belonged to his friends and she believed him. However, after seeing more items, she said she realized he was lying to her.
By that time, she said she didn't believe she could do anything to get him to stop. He worked and made his own money and was driving.
That didn't mean she didn't try. She said she talked to him about it and sent him legitimate articles about the dangers of vaping. She's had an x-ray taken of his chest to make sure everything looks OK. The x-ray didn't show any issues.
"It's being marketed that it's better than smoking and they believe it," she said.
The mother has rules for her son when it comes to vaping. He's not allowed to use it in her presence or in the house. He has to use his own money to purchase anything.
John said he doesn't agree with a proposed ordinance that penalizes teens for vaping.
"I feel most kids who are old enough to vape are old enough to make decisions on whether they'll do it or not," John said.
He also doesn't believe an ordinance that allows police to ticket kids for vaping would make a difference to most kids his age. He said it wouldn't stop him. He's already appeared in Prairie Grove District Court for a speeding ticket.
General News on 11/13/2019