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Like most college freshmen, when I first arrived at Syracuse University in the fall of 2022, I experienced a wide range of emotions. I was optimistic to see what the future held, yet reluctant to let go of the ease and normalcy of my life at home. I was overwhelmed by new opportunities, new classes and new people.

Many students initially struggle in college, and it can be difficult to cope with the inevitable stressors, adversities and unwanted emotions that are typical of this new beginning. Nicotine becomes a way to cope with homesickness, social anxiety, depression and loneliness. Given its popularity across college campuses, it’s easy to fall into addiction.

Vaping is the most popular method people use to inhale nicotine. Vapes are typically marketed to younger people with enticing flavors and vibrant colors, hiding that they contain arsenic and other harmful chemicals that can impair brain development and encourage other risky behaviors in the future like smoking cigarettes.

Other dangerous nicotine products, like cigarettes, are promoted in a way that makes them seem severely more threatening, but vaping poses similar health issues; it’s just marketed differently. Vaping also takes away some of the social drawbacks of smoking, like bad breath or a flagrant lingering smell in a user’s clothes and hair.

Despite the risks, college students have normalized the use of nicotine in social settings, study lounges and even classrooms. When I walk into the dorm room of a friend or peer, there is a slight sense of humidity and a sweet, fruity smell that lingers in the air. When I use restrooms in academic buildings, I see peers taking breaks from class or studying to vape.

Many people who vape feel that it helps them cope with anxiety. But, dependency and addiction to vaping is more likely to contribute to anxiety symptoms, not alleviate them.

Cindy Zhang | Digital Design Director

The American Heart Association surveyed over 2,500 people ages 13 to 24 and found that self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms were more common among those who were active nicotine users. About a quarter of the vape users in the study reported that they turned to nicotine to calm down or feel less stressed.

When students turn to vaping when they are stressed or anxious, it becomes a hopeless trap.
Tessa Surielow, a student at SU, describes her vape as “a security blanket.” Vapes and e-cigarettes give college students comfort in times of uncertainty, or when under pressure and stress.

“Although I knew that nicotine would not positively impact me, I was surrounded by those who used it on a daily basis,” Surielow said, “leading me to eventually become addicted myself.”

It is important for college students to understand the connection between nicotine addiction and a decline in mental health to assess why they actually depend on vapes and e-cigarettes.

Fortunately, SU, like many campuses in the United States, offers a variety of resources to help students cope with many of the problems students seek to alleviate with nicotine. The Barnes Center at The Arch provides substance use resources and counseling for students faced with mental health challenges.

As students, we can make a more active effort to take the effects of vaping seriously and try to recognize the long-term mental and physical health effects it could have on us.

Angela Meissner is a sophomore Broadcasting and Digital Journalism major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at ammeissn@syr.edu.

Published on September 26, 2023 at 11:11 pm