TCCHS Students Get Real About Vaping
Vaping is a topic of high interest these days, with everyone from students to parents and teachers to even the Governor weighing in on what its about and how concerned we should be about its popularity and safety. Especially for our young people. Troy College and Career High School invited two 2nd year Respiratory Therapy students from Macomb Community College to share what is known, and how vaping negatively affects people’s health.
Shelbie Qasawa and Kariann Mengele discussed their education and experiences, brought visual aids--including healthy and unhealthy real pig lungs--and let students see how healthy their own lungs were by trying out the diagnostic breathalyzer equipment. “The scary thing is how little is known about vaping’s long-term effects,” said Qasawa. “As people get older, lung function has nowhere to go but down,” added Mengele. “But we do know for sure that the oils used in vaping—especially the THC and flavored vapes--are big problems, because their ingredients include Vitamin E and Formaldehyde, and these substances coat the inside of the lungs, interfering with the oxygen flow to the rest of the body.” And although it is thought that vaping is “safer” than smoking cigarettes in that vaping exposes you to fewer toxic chemicals than traditional cigarettes, both contain nicotine at addictive levels.
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Students had many questions and came away with a better understanding of what vaping does and how it works, and asked about how Qasawa & Mengele chose their field of study. Time ran out before all the questions were answered, which is a sign of a successful presentation. It is safe to say that TCCHS students came away with much to think about.
