by Leah Dusek

Many, if not all, Palm Desert High School students know or have seen someone vape in the school restrooms. Some students consider themselves smokers. This article is not written to condemn anyone. Rather, it is written to let students in on how big narcotic companies entice young adults into trying their products to create lifelong addicts. This article seeks to advise on how to prevent addiction in the first place.

Since the Civil War, R.J. Reynolds, founded in 1875 and one of the earliest tobacco companies, has been altering their products to suit consumer appetites. Reynolds began its successful journey with bitter-tasting tobacco products, evolving two hundred years later into ashy-tasting cigarettes. Fast forward fifty years, and we have the bubble gum and mint-flavored e-cigarettes popular on the market today. These big brand companies, and even smaller ones like Flume, Elf Bar, and Rizz Bar, purposefully market vaping to children, knowing they will profit from hooking those with the longest life expectancy. Young people's growing brains build synapses faster than adult brains. Because addiction is a form of learning, adolescents become addicted more quickly than adults. According to the CDC, the age bracket of 15-20-year-olds "are more addicted to nicotine than anyone." Moreover, a study by the FDA confirmed that "1 in 10 middle and high school students currently use e-cigarettes." This is around 2.5 million youths in total.

Tobacco companies rely on the obscurity of addiction to entice customers; they do not care about kids or users. For example, the brand Camel has a long history of marketing cigarettes to kids – and getting in trouble. In the '90s and early 2000s, R.J. Reynolds advertised Camel cigarette ads in multiple big magazines like Rolling Stone and Vibe, read predominantly by teenagers. The company was then sued for 20 million dollars for falsely advertising cigarettes as safe.

There is no doubt that teenagers thirty years ago got hooked on cigarettes after this marketing scheme. Present marketing tactics are similar but more under wraps. Companies like Juul use strategies like emotional appeal (friendship, rebellion, success), celebrity endorsements, and social media influencers as temptations. Yale PhD neuroscientist Marina Picciotto has studied the basic science behind nicotine addiction for decades. She notes that "adolescents do not think they will get addicted to nicotine, but when they want to stop, they find it very difficult."

Nowadays, the likelihood of this generation's recovery is lower than in the 90s epidemic. This is because the THC concentration in vapes is higher than in cigarettes or weed. Dr. Parry, Palm Desert High School addiction counselor, says, "If you have an addiction to anything, you have about a 10% chance of recovery.” 

Dr. Parry works for the Desert Sands Unified School District Student Assistance outreach program. This program tries to connect students and their families with services available in the district and the local community. Dr. Parry got his bachelor's in sociology and psychology at the University of Hawaii and his master's in counseling psychology at Chapman University. He then worked at treatment centers for 30 years with expertise in smoking, marijuana use, drinking, low-income issues, child abuse, and mental health. This is his sixth school year working with students, yet most students look at him as a part of the administration that handles student discipline.

Dr. Parry emphasizes, “I’m not." When speaking with The Spear, he clearly has an unwavering passion for his job and helping those who ask. He counsels students caught smoking at school, as well as those who come forth asking for help on Thursdays at lunch. First-time offenders receive counseling from him four times, and re-offenders receive counseling nine times. He receives four referrals per week from the disciplinary office for smoking. The first step in recovery is admitting there is a problem. The second step is getting help. Dr. Parry asks that students reach out if they want to recover.

 "The more phone calls I get, the happier I am," said Dr. Parry.     

According to Mr. Bautista, former disciplinary principal, "Palm Desert High School has the lowest usage rate compared to every other school in the Coachella Valley." This is interesting because students know how crowded bathrooms are due to smokers. The restrooms nearly always reek of weed or artificial vape scents because the bathroom is the only private place on campus to curb smokers' cravings conveniently. This problem often prevents non-using students who actually need to use the toilet from getting to class on time during passing periods. 

One student says, "It is challenging to get into a stall and get past all of the girls 'using the mirrors,' and it is very crowded in the five downstairs bathrooms." Similarly, another female student reports, "I would notice that at the five-bathroom building, there was traffic inside, mainly because girls were using the stalls to do other things except pee, like smoking." 

Though the security guards try to do their job, bathroom crowding has frustrated many non-using students who believe more should be done to curb this problem.

However, Palm Desert High School security guard Tara Porras told The Spear she takes her career seriously. "Every time a student is caught, I escort them to the office with no exceptions." She has an undeniable passion for her job and loves connecting with students. The security guard agrees that talking to someone is the best course of action. Porras says that sometimes she will walk and talk with students who want to take their minds off cravings. She is an excellent resource to confide in, and people who go to her are not accused of wrongdoing and punished. She says, "I love being around the students and being a positive role model. I have finally found what I love to do."

Similarly, Mr. Bautista told The Spear, "A true friend is not going to offer you something that's going to hurt you. A true friend will offer you kindness, love, and respect." He agrees that getting help is the best course of action.

Unfortunately, there is a stigma that attributes asking for help as a weakness. This is an untrue and harmful mentality that gets in the way of a healthy lifestyle. With that in mind, students who suspect a personal problem with drug use can get involved with the many different treatment centers in the Valley outside of school. It is simple to join, and Dr. Parry can offer private assistance anytime. For those who feel this is not the course for them, simply changing routine can help resist temptation. For example, Dr. Parry says he knows adults who cannot have a cup of coffee without a cigarette. The answer is to cut coffee from the routine. 

"Someone who smokes every day should cut out Wednesdays,” advised an anonymous Palm Desert High student, recovering smoker, and former client of Dr. Parry, “Then, once they are used to that, keep cutting more days until they amount to zero." Fidget toys also have been known to help keep the hands busy, being a fantastic distraction from nicotine.

The Spear urges Palm Desert High School students not to sacrifice their time, money, and health to big vape companies like R.J. Reynolds. These companies are relying on adolescent ignorance of products and their harms. To make our school a healthier and kinder shared space, step up by refusing to be a pawn in these companies' generational corrupt agenda.