RaiderNet


February 6, 2019

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The Real Risk of Nicotine

By Caleb Clarke

I would like to address some of the feedback I received after my previous article “Is Juuling a Real Health Problem?” was published in the January 10 issue of RaiderNet. There was some concern that the information was not fact-based and might send an unclear message to students and parents.

I recognize that I did not present a large amount of information about the effects of nicotine, which is present in juul pods. With that being said, I would like to present some additional information about the potential risk of using nicotine products.

Nicotine, despite popular opinion, is not a carcinogen and has not been not been proven to cause cancer or any other disease. The cancers that result from traditional cigarette smoking come from the at least 69 chemicals in them that have been proven to be carcinogenic.

However, nicotine does have some serious side effects. Nicotine is commonly known to cause addiction. Nicotine releases dopamine or the “feel-good chemical” into the brain. Using nicotine consistently will artificially stimulate the brain with dopamine.

When users quit, they suffer withdrawal symptoms that are similar to that of a traditional cigarette smoker. When users stop, many report experiencing headaches. Irritability, anxiety, nausea, and insomnia are also very common withdrawal symptoms. These effects are usually short-term, but can be quite severe. There are also long-term effects associated with nicotine use.

Research has shown that nicotine increases alertness and improves visual attention. When users build a tolerance and then stop using, they may be less alert and have trouble focusing. These effects can remain for a long time and this is certainly a valid concern that should not be understated.

Caffeine has very similar withdrawal symptoms. It is very common for coffee drinkers to report headaches, irritability, nausea, and even vomiting when they stop using caffeine.

I want to reiterate that I do not support the use of e-cigarettes. There are clear, negative effects of nicotine use and considering that e-cigarettes give the user no benefit, there is certainly no reason to take the risks.

With that being said, however, I stand behind my previous article and believe in the facts and logical evidence presented.

I would also like to add that data has shown that the administration's response has been successful and there has been a significant reduction in the use of e-cigarettes in school. According to our school data, incidents of e-cigarette use are down from 19 in October to 6 in January. This is good news and I am hopeful the trend will continue.