A vaping epidemic has swept up many teenagers and has become a problem in schools across the country.

As an innocent freshman, the idea of smoking or vaping in the bathroom was completely foreign to me. But by my sophomore year, I was offered to hit a vape in the bathroom for the first time. By my junior and senior years it had become, in many ways, a normal thing, and if you didn’t vape yourself, you learned to ignore it.

Many high school students who vape use JUUL products, and lately the company has been in a lot of trouble. JUUL is an electronic vaping device that claims to be “an alternative for adult smokers” and supposedly helps end an addiction to cigarettes. The company has been accused of advertising to and purposefully appealing to teens by selling fruity, “candy-like” pod flavors and trendy adornments like colorful skins and stickers for their vapes.

In late 2018, JUUL announced that they will stop selling their widely beloved pod flavors such as mango and cool cucumber at vape stores and gas stations. That left me wondering: how will this change affect pop culture’s latest accessory?

With alternative brands such as Eonsmoke, Phix or Suorin and a multitude of flavored nicotine juices, it is likely that teenagers will find a substitute for their cherished JUUL pods in order to feed their addiction. It is only bound to get worse.

“The only change will be kids will start buying the Eon brand instead of JUUL pods, or start refilling their pods,” a female senior said.

Massachusetts, California, New Jersey, Maine, Oregon and Hawaii have changed the legal age of buying tobacco and nicotine products to 21. Some students believe this change will make it more difficult for high school students to purchase vapes, pods and other popular vaping products.

“Any high schooler could look like they’re 18 years old, but say 21 for example, not a lot of high schoolers look that old,” a male junior said. “It would be a lot harder for people to get away with it.”

However, there are online loopholes to get around this legal age restriction. On JUUL’s website there is an age confirmation popup when you open the page. I am underage, yet I was still able to choose the option of being 21. This raises another concern about how regulated the sales are.

Whether it was bought legally or not, and whether or not you’re old enough to own a vaping device or not, the rules about vaping or having any sort of mind-altering substance on school grounds are very strict.

It seems as though the fear of disciplinary action causes some students to take precaution when vaping at school. A relatively new rule is that if caught with any vaping products, you will face an out of school suspension. A female junior commented that the new bathroom policies have led her and her friends to change their behavior.

“Last year, I would always go with a group of friends into the big stall and vape, but with the new rules, I always go into the stall alone,” she explained.

An alternative solution to harsh punishments for vaping could be classes or programs for students who are at risk of substance abuse. The new suspensions are detrimental to the future of affected students and will have a negative on their permanent record, yet people are still being charged with the same offense of vaping at school everyday.

Bathroom policies instill the wrongfulness of vaping in school and encourage some to stop all together. Yet, it may not be possible to fix the society of nicotine addicts that has been created through simple punishments because students are physically or mentally dependent on these substances. If other classes or groups were an option instead of suspension, it is possible that students would have a greater chance to stop vaping if they were being encouraged positively.

It’s clear that teenagers will find ways and do whatever it takes to get a fix of nicotine. Getting rid of fruity JUUL pods will only benefit third party vape companies. Unfortunately, the media today has turned vaping into a stylish hobby, yet lots of users do not know the long term effects. The society of nicotine addicts that thrives today may not be able to be stopped.