What should families know about teen vaping, and how can you tell the difference between a harmless gadget and a hidden vape? In this episode of HCPS Wellness Talks, mental health counselors (and fellow parents of teens) Christine Spilman and Christina Norment break down the basics of vaping, from what e-cigarettes actually are to why fruity smells, “USB drives,” and even hoodie strings can sometimes be cause for a closer look. Christine also shares her expertise as a certified substance abuse counselor, explaining how nicotine, marijuana, and other substances can affect the developing teen brain.

Together, Christine and Christina talk through how teens are getting access to vapes, why vaping can open the door to other substance use, and what parents and caregivers can realistically do in response. 

You’ll hear practical ideas for starting calm, age-appropriate conversations, helping teens connect the risks to their own goals and activities, and knowing when it’s time to “call in the village” by looping in your child’s school for support.

Para leer la transcripción de este episodio en español, haga clic aquí.

Additional resources: 

Parent education workshop from Spring 2025

American Lung Association Vaping Facts for Parents

Tobacco Free Kids

Talking to your teens about vaping

Truth Initiative

[00:00:06] Christina: This podcast is for families, community partners, and anyone interested in learning more about child development, education, and wellness.

[00:00:17] Christina: And Christina Norman, mental health counselors for Harrisonburg City Schools. We're glad you're here.

[00:00:35] Christina: And I am Christina Norman. I'm a mental health counselor at Harrisonburg High School. Today, we're gonna be talking about vaping awareness. And I want to start by saying that I am a parent of teenagers as well. And I am coming to you in all of these podcast episodes, humbly, as an imperfect parent that doesn't always know what to do myself, but we have some information as mental health professionals that has come our way on vaping, and we thought it might be helpful to share that with other parents and community members.

[00:01:27] Christina: It takes a village, right, Christine?

[00:01:34] Christina: So that being said, I am happy to share that we have an expert here, right on our very own podcast team. Christine Spillman is a certified substance abuse counselor, and we're very lucky to have her working in Harrisonburg City with our youth. Can you tell us a little more about your background in substance abuse counseling, Christine?

[00:02:22] and then after you get your hours doing that, then you take an exam on substance use counseling, and if you pass that exam, then you have your CSACand so with that then. You can engage in counseling directly related to substance use counseling and administer certain assessments to determine the level of substance dependence in clients that you work with.

[00:03:20] Christina: Thank you for sharing your background.

[00:03:44] Christine: Right.

[00:03:51] Christine: And so. In order to understand some of this, I'd love to ask you some questions about teens and vaping. That would be great.

[00:04:10] Yeah, so, directly from the CDC, so the Center for Disease Control. Electronic cigarettes are the actual device. And so they are battery-powered devices, and they could deliver nicotine flavors. And any other ingredients, such as marijuana or anything else that could be made into a vapor and inhaled.

[00:04:43] and so e-cigarettes create this harmful water vapor, and an aerosol that contains these harmful chemicals. And then vaping is the act of using e-cigarettes.

[00:05:03] Christine: Yes. Yes. Yes.

[00:05:14] Christine: No, not necessarily. Some could be, and others could have other harmful chemicals in an e-cigarette. And just because it may not be nicotine or marijuana directly in the e-cigarette. It doesn't mean that it's not harmful because there are still chemicals, and the way that it is entering someone's body is still dangerous and puts them in harm.

[00:05:53] Christine: Yes, correct.

[00:06:01] Christine: Yeah. Well, and this is where it can be really tricky because a lot of vapes can look like other things that teenagers commonly have. A lot of vapes look like a USB flash drive. They are probably the most common among youth is to have something that just looks like. It's a USB drive, and they're using it for their computer.

[00:06:43] Christina: Oh my goodness.

[00:06:49] Christina: They're chewing on their little hoodie string like kids are known to do, but they could actually be inhaling something out of that. Wow.

[00:07:14] You have every right as a parent or a family member to ask your child about that and say, What are you writing with right there? What is that you're using? And you have a right to take a look at that.

[00:07:28] Christine: Yes.

[00:07:40] Christine: So it could be nicotine, it could be marijuana. Any type of substance that could be liquified and put into a vape format could be inhaled. And as we know, nicotine is highly addictive. And so even if there is nicotine in there and you know the teenager is inhaling that, it definitely impacts.

[00:08:21] Christina: Okay. And just to clarify, in case there's anybody who's wondering, nicotine is the main drug in smoking traditional cigarettes. People who smoke traditional cigarettes are using the substance nicotine. Is that right?

[00:08:38] Christina: And what I'm hearing is that vapes can have what, like five times the nicotine in one vape or e-cigarette that a traditional cigarette might have.

[00:09:11] Christina: Okay, so if somebody is vaping, they might be vaping a lot of nicotine or a lot of marijuana.

[00:09:24] Christina: Well, so in Virginia,

[00:09:35] Christine: That is correct. Yes.

[00:09:42] Christine: That's a great question. So between 94 and 97% of the e-cigarette or vape purchases occur online by teenagers. And that can be through some of the popular sites like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, the common sites that teenagers would use.

[00:10:19] Christine: So that's a great question too, and it could be, we also don't know who's on the other side of that computer screen. So, is it an actual company? Is it another teen or another adult that may have access to these? E-cigarettes that are trying to sell them to teens. They could also be lying about their age.

[00:11:08] Christina: Are you saying it's the honesty policy? You just, it comes up on the website, click 21 or older, and they send you the drugs.

[00:11:21] Christina: That's a hard thing for parents to keep control over.

[00:11:26] Christina: Okay. I'll let you continue. How else are they getting vapes?

[00:11:52] and which is unfortunate and can definitely be another way that teens are just going into the store and buying them. Yeah, so those are some of the more common, easier ways for teens to get those vapes.

[00:12:27] Christine: Yes. Yes. And also that there was a workshop for parents last spring at Rock Town on vaping awareness, and that will also be linked in the show notes as well, for anybody who wants to watch that.

[00:12:43] Christine: Yes.

[00:12:46] Christine: Yes, it is.

[00:13:02] into an adult-style brain. How does vaping affect this quick, intense development of the brain that teenagers are experiencing?

[00:13:35] learning attention. And so if our brains are still developing into those, being able to pay attention, and when we think about typical teenage behaviors of, you know, not remembering things or difficulty paying attention, it will make sense, impulse control for sure. It makes sense why that is not yet fully developed while using nicotine or any other substance that could impact that part of the brain that's developing. And so it may impact the ability for a teenager to learn or to learn appropriate skills in controlling their impulses, paying attention. And so, it impacts the growth of that and could actually make the growth of the brain slow down because of it, the substance use.

[00:14:37] Christine: Yes. Can any of those do that?

[00:14:40] Christine: Yeah.

[00:14:43] Christine: They are high. Yes.

[00:14:57] Christine: Yes, that is correct?

[00:15:32] Christine: Yes. Right. I know. How can we help these teenagers that we have? So the first is talking to your child, taking a calm and open approach. It's never too early to start talking to your child about substances, about vaping. As early as upper elementary is what I say, because once they hit middle school, it can definitely be an issue in middle school and with that age.

[00:16:16] And some teens just think, they say, well, I'm just vaping. There's nothing wrong with this. This is harmless. It's just water vapor. So they don't necessarily have all of the accurate information about what vaping can actually do.

[00:16:40] Christine: Yes, definitely. Yes. Right. That can be accurate with them, and help them connect with personal reasons that they don't wanna smoke. Like are they interested in sports? Do they, you know, have thoughts of doing something interesting in the community? And so, reminding them they do not wanna lose opportunities to do this because of their health.

[00:17:23] Because again, if they're under 21, there's not really a whole lot legally that. It can happen. However, if they're using marijuana, there can be some legal consequences to that. And sometimes just saving money, like reminding them, you know, Hey, you wanna have money to do fun things if you spend your money on.

[00:18:05] And so, really being able to identify with what teenagers would want to have happen and what they are enjoying.

[00:18:22] Christine: Yes, I know. I remember that too.

[00:18:27] Christine: It is. Yes.

[00:18:35] Christine: Yeah. So, modeling healthy ways to cope with stressors in your life. If you are modeling ways to deal with things that don't involve using a substance, you're teaching your children that no matter what they say, they're still observing that, and they know what. What you're teaching them. And just like being vigilant, looking at your children.

[00:19:23] It's okay to ask questions, be open, ask questions, loop in your village. Other people loop in the school if you need to, because again, we're with your children most of the day. And so we can see if, if you are concerned about something and you're noticing a change in their behavior, you can let us know and we can keep an eye out for that too, and just try to help with that. You don't have to do this by yourself.

[00:19:51] Christine: Yes, definitely. Most definitely.

[00:20:26] Christine: Definitely yes. Those are some definite red flags. And yes, the smells, I'm glad you said that. definitely paying attention to the smells because it can smell fruity is what I notice most are vanilla, a strong vanilla scent. And it can, sometimes people get that confused for like perfume or cologne.

[00:21:03] Christina: Yeah, so those are definitely some good things to be aware of. I'm glad you mentioned those.

[00:21:31] Christine: Yes, definitely. Thank you for letting us share this information with you today. Let us know how else we can support you and your child.

[00:21:56] Christine: Check out the HCPS Wellness Talk webpage for great links that will give you further information on this topic.