Did you hear about the man who read so much about the harmful effects of drinking, smoking and gambling that he decided to give up reading? Unfortunately this is the same reaction that many people, young and old, have when they are warned about the harmful effects of doing or being involved in any number of harmful activities.

One of those activities that is on the front burner these days is “vaping,” or the use of E-cigarettes. According to a recent study by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, E-cigarette use among teens is skyrocketing, as more than a third of high school students have tried it over the past year. One 15-year-old boy even landed in rehab after he said he got hooked on E-cigarettes and was spending $170 a week on vaping nicotine.

What these young people need to be taught before it’s too late is that choices have consequences. What most never think about or understand is the long-term consequences of using products that are harmful to their body. This includes alcohol, drugs and other things such as marijuana that are addictive to their body. If you have children in school or know those in this age group, here is a suggested dialogue with them, when you suspect or know they are using E-cigarettes. This dialogue will give them something positive to live for and think about. 

Let’s say you have a young son named Bob. The conversation begins, “Bob, you know that a lot of young people today are using or at least trying E-cigarettes or vaping. This product has been proven to damage the lungs of teenagers. While I hope you are not one of them, here is something to think about. Let’s say you are involved and you go on through school, get out and go to college. Before long you get a great job, marry your high school sweetheart and start a family. In time you have three beautiful children and are really enjoying life. You are a typical all-American family.

“Then one day while in your mid-40s you have a pain in your chest and go to the doctor to have it checked out. The tests come back and the doctor has a very serious look on his face. He says, ‘Bob, I have some bad news for you. The test reveals that you have lung cancer and we think it was caused by vaping or using E-cigarettes when you were in school. We will treat it and do all we can but it does not look good’. Bob battles his lung cancer for several months but sadly he passes away, while still in the prime of life, leaving his wife and three beautiful children.”

This may be a little over dramatic, but make no mistake, it does happen to good people and good families all the time. To repeat, choices have consequences, and this fact must be taught to our precious young people before they get involved with the wrong people doing the wrong things. 

To close, here is a “FLASH” bulletin. Because E-cigarettes and vaping are so new in terms of use, the authorities and medical people do not have a lot of data and research on which to base their findings. However, I saw something on the television news just a few weeks ago that paints a very bleak picture of the number of young people doing this and what the harmful effects on the lungs and body truly are. In your best interests, if your youngsters are doing this, use any means you can to get them to stop because this is bad news. It could shorten their life and cause irreversible harm.

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(Editor’s Note: JIM DAVIDSON is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist and founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated to over 375 newspapers in 35 states, making it one of the most successful in the history of American journalism.)