It’s not a flash drive. It’s an electronic cigarette and it's getting some young people hooked on nicotine.
BASIC INFORMATION about the devices:
The newer pod-type and disposable e-cigarettes produce only a small puff of aerosol and are easy to hide, even at home or in the classroom. Some come in the form of pens, wrist watches, computer flash drives that are rechargeable by USB cable, etc. Since federal law prohibited the sale of flavored pod devices, flavored disposables, like Puff Bar (R) have become more popular.
A single pod or disposable may contain as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes—maybe more.
People call it “vaping,” but e-cigarettes produce a harmful aerosol, not harmless water vapor.
The nicotine in the newer e-cigarettes is in a different form than the nicotine in traditional cigarettes. It causes less throat irritation, making it easy for the user to ingest high levels of nicotine. The flavorings, solvents and metals involved in e-cigarettes result in fine particles that may do lasting lung damage.
Often e-cigarettes are used to ingest marijuana or other drugs.
WHY NICOTINE is so HARMFUL to our YOUTH:
Nicotine harms adolescent brain development. It can constrict blood vessels, reducing blood flow to every part of the body. It can put stress on the heart and can make it race.
Nicotine is extremely addictive. It can be very difficult to overcome.
Young people who use e-cigarettes are 8 times as likely to go on to regular cigarettes than those who do not use e-cigarettes.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Talk with your child about the dangers of using electronic cigarettes.
NEVER let a youngster convince you to provide him or her with e-cigarettes.
Teens and young adults can get free help by texting “DITCHJUUL” to 88709.
Parents can get help by texting “QUIT” TO (202) 899-7550.
For more information, go to Tobacco Free Nebraska / E-Cigarettes & Vaping
LOCAL STATISTICS:
*47% of 12th graders surveyed in Lincoln County, Nebraska (in the fall of 2018) said they had used e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days.
The rates for 10th and 8th grades were 26% and 14%, respectively. (Nebraska Risk and Protective Factor Student Survey, administered by UNL Bureau of Sociological Research.)