Due to nicotine companies’ targeted marketing strategies, 516 million packs of cigarettes per year are being sold and consumed by minors.  

Companies have been accused of using colorful packaging and enticing flavors to get children and teens addicted to their products.  Nicotine companies make flavors inspired by fruit, candy, desserts, and other sweets. To counter this occurrence, Senate Bill (SB) 793, passed in November of 2022 made flavored nicotine products illegal in California. Even with this law in place, kids are still able to get their hands on flavored nicotine products.

Vapes are the most popular form of nicotine use among students. Nicotine corporations have even made their products look like highlighters, markers, pencils, and other forms of school supplies to give students more opportunities to use them in classroom settings. Flavors and disguised nicotine products have made it easier for students to get a quick buzz on school grounds, while also making it difficult for school staff members to catch them in the act. 

“People who use vapes are getting lung diseases that took cigarette smokers 44 years, sometimes in the span of two-three years,” said school nurse, Kerry Coryell. 

Both vapes and cigarettes cause harmful side effects, however, there is a lack of extensive research on the long-term side effects of vaping. The nicotine industry swears vapes are the healthier alternative, but because it’s such a new product the real effects are unknown.

Nicotine use skyrocketed in the early 2000’s due to the invention of the vape. Students all around the world use vapes as a result of social pressure and peer influence.

With technology getting more advanced, it assisted in the advertising of tobacco products. This also unleashed an unsafe environment for minors who were exposed to ads for these products, as well as their favorite celebrities endorsing them. The internet soon became another way for minors to purchase tobacco products.

Students are able to purchase vapes on shopping platforms such as Amazon without even having to show identification of their age. Nicotine companies are tempting children with their products on different forms of social media, such as Tiktok shop and Snapchat, with colorful ads and deals. Advertising methods are being used to get minors dependent on their products through social media and shopping platforms. 

The internet has drastically changed how students get nicotine and how they are exposed to it.

Teachers and staff are having a more difficult time catching students using nicotine because of the new forms it comes in. Nicotine companies are becoming more and more creative on how they market and sell their products, making it difficult to improve this issue. 

“Last year at school we had around 80 nicotine products confiscated, a lot of them being flavored,” said Principal Cina Abedzadeh. 

School’s have made announcements, held assemblies, and dedicated whole weeks to solving this problem. Even with the school’s efforts to educate their students about the dangers of nicotine, students still are using these harmful substances.

“We know there’s a problem of vaping among younger students, and we do our best to educate the students we catch about nicotine use, as well as trying to find solutions for stopping nicotine use in unsupervised areas,” said Abedzadeh. 

Schools are being called into action against nicotine companies to make sure schools become and remain a safe learning environment. 

After killing their previous customers with their products, nicotine companies shifted their attention to children and teenagers, to create a whole new generation of nicotine addicts.