Vaping is an issue affecting teens worldwide. Everyday, new discoveries are being made about what these devices can cause. Although the dangers vaping can cause are still widely unknown, there is an understanding it’s unhealthy.

Currently there have been around 1,080 lung injury cases from 46 states in the U.S. caused by vaping. There have also been 18 deaths confirmed in 15 of these states.

For teens, vaping can cause damage to developing brains, nicotine addiction and the vapes can contain toxic chemicals that can be harmful for teen’s lungs.

As a result, the government, and many companies are trying to find ways to prevent underage vaping.

Patrice Harris, the president of the American Medical Association, said, “We must not stand by while e-cigarettes continue to go unregulated. We urge the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to speed up the regulation of e-cigarettes and remove all unregulated products from the market.” She continued, “We also call on the FDA to immediately ban flavors, as well as marketing practices, that enhance the appeal of e-cigarette products to youth.”

So far, the only action taken by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent juuling was by issuing a warning letter to JUUL Labs Inc.

The Acting FDA Commissioner, Ned Sharpless, M.D said, “Before marketing tobacco products for reduced risk, companies must demonstrate with scientific evidence that their specific product does in fact pose less risk or is less harmful. JUUL has ignored the law, and very concerningly, has made some of these statements in school to our nation’s youth.”

The Trump Administration has also taken actions to help prevent underage vaping. Trump says his administration will propose banning thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes. Flavors such as mango, which are specifically popular amongst teens.

Schools are also taking actions to prevent the use of vapes. Central York High School continuously addresses this issue.

“At grade level meetings, vaping is one that is specifically addressed,” said CYHS Principal Ryan Caufman. If students are caught vaping, they will get sent to the office and have the vape confiscated, get a call home about vaping and have to serve three of in-school suspension (ISS) for their offense. If the issue persists, they may also have to serve out of school suspension.

Although many are trying to help prevent underage vaping, the epidemic still remains an ongoing issue in American society.