RESEARCH BLOG #7: FRAME

Vaping is becoming a popular trend among college students as, “...over a third of young adults(35.8%) age 18 to 24 report ever trying an e-cigarette and 13.6% report current use”(Cheney).  Students are using vaping devices in bathrooms, classrooms, and even in parking lots(“The Vaping Trend among Students - Pros and Cons). The ecological model helps describe the ecology of the campus and what influences a student’s decision to vape, where to vape, where to buy vaping products, etc. Young adults are usually open to the idea of just trying e-cigarettes as a recent study showed that, “...among current young adult e-cigarette users, 40% were never smokers”(Cheney). The current environment, such as the partying and drug culture on campus, has influenced students’ decisions to try vaping. Along with this, the increasing rates of exposure to vaping is associated with advertising on social media, which can be a large predictor of an individual’s decision to try something. By viewing others try these products, students become more curious about this new trend. At a party, students might choose to smoke because of the need to” fit in” and the freedom to choose how much flavor and nicotine level you want depending on your preference. For example, Max who is a sophomore at UW noted that the party culture was an introduction to vaping. He stated, “When you go to parties, a lot of people have [e-cigarettes] and they pass them around or offer them [to you], especially the first couple times when I said I had never tried it or that I didn’t have one,” He then said “Eventually, I was sort of like ‘well, it’s annoying to have to hit someone else’s’ because I started wanting it during the day … so I went and got one and hit it way more after that.”(Dolby). First Max was exposed to vaping at parties and then once he decided he liked it, he decided to purchase his own vape pen, so he was able to customize the flavors to his liking. Students that vape typically have friends that do not care much about their vaping or have friends that continually support and join them when vaping. Vaping can be seen as a way to enhance one’s self image which may attract students to trying e-cigarettes. College students are also exposed to vaping due to the increasing amount of e-cigarette retailers near campus which can suggest a vaping- friendly environment(Cheney). If everyone is vaping and products are easily accessible, how bad can it actually be? In conjunction with this point, in Armstrong and Hamilton’s, Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality,” they discuss how students who are on the “party pathway” at college discover they could drink and use drugs, while taking easy classes, knowing that the end of the day if they got into any trouble, their parents will help them still succeed.  The students that have support probably believe that this partying and vaping culture will not affect their health since they have their parents always helping them out if needed. In the Ecological Model study, a majority of students reported that their parents were doubtful about vaping, but would rather have their children vape than smoke(Cheney). If there are no known severe risks associated with vaping, students are more willing to participate in the vaping culture especially if they know they can experience freedom while also being protected by their parents.  Can preferences and autonomy be more of a reason for why students vape? The real threat of vaping is that there is a possibility that it will eventually lead to a more dangerous path and addiction.

The Ecological Model discusses that as college campuses implement no tobacco policies, students remain uncertain about whether vaping is included in this regulation, while also refusing to ask. The community can influence a student’s view on vaping as, “College student vapers said that they do not experience as many responses from community members about their vaping as their smoking”(Cheney). We typically see signs in the community that explicitly say no smoking, but how often do we see no vaping signs? The problem is that society still fails to realize that vaping is considered smoking as well and the overall act of smoking on campus should be limited. In order to further implement limitations to vaping, it is important to understand intervention strategies. The sense of community of vaping can allow promotion of prolonging vaping, a decrease of personal barriers to smoking, and the increase of the social norm perspective of smoking. Since the issue of vaping lies within the community, it is necessary to target these members and create intervention strategies to promote the regulation of vaping. The more community members view vaping as an act that is harmless, the more willing students are to vape anywhere and anytime on campus. The first step in intervening is educating the public of the various health risks of vaping and why they should care about the severity of these illnesses.