Vaping to relax? It actually may be stressing you out.
How Vaping Affects Your Mental Health
Reasons to Believe
Many young adults smoke or vape because they believe it helps relieve stress. Studies reveal troubling links between vaping, nicotine, and worsening symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as higher odds of having a depression diagnosis.
Learn how vaping is affecting your mental health.
National Alliance on Mental Illness has reliable information regarding the effects nicotine use has on youth’s physical and mental health.
Mental Health Resources
Talking About Mental Health
Mental Health America has a helpful page - Talking to Adolescents and Teens: Starting The Conversation. Practical advice, Dos & Don’ts, and more.
Mental Health Supports
If you or a loved one is experiencing symptoms of mental illness, get treatment or help them get treatment. Call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357), or text your zip code to 435748 (HELP4U) for 24-hour, free and confidential treatment referral.
For more information on how to get mental health treatment visit the link below.
Coping with Stress
Learning to cope with stress in a healthy way will help you, the people you care about, and those around you become more resilient. The CDC’s website offers tools to overcome stress, parent resource kits, education on coping skills and how to reduce the stigma around mental health.
Nicotine Resources
Impacts on Your Health
Usage of tobacco products in any form is detrimental to one’s health. Cigarette smoking is related to numerous deadly illnesses including lung and mouth cancer, emphysema, heart disease, COPD, and chronic bronchitis. Vaping or E-cigarettes are a mechanism for smoking nicotine and usage among high school and middle school students is on the rise. 99% of e-cigarettes contain nicotine, and some labels don’t even disclose the specific amount. Nicotine of any amount is harmful to a youth’s long-term development by changing the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulses, ultimately leading to a higher likelihood of addiction to other drugs.
Truth Initiative
Truth Initiative is America’s largest nonprofit public health organization dedicated to a future where tobacco and nicotine addiction are things of the past. The organization provides resources and toolkits on how to quit smoking/vaping. In addition, they provide up to date research and studies on vaping products.
Upstate NY Poison Center
Upstate New York Poison Center is a helpful website for parents and teens to learn about the harmful effects of vaping, medication safety, and nicotine poisoning. For more information or questions, feel free to Call them at 1-800-222-1222.
This campaign is supported by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award funded by ONDCP. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ONDCP, CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
